International tourist arrivals in Cuba plummet; down 20% YoY

Tourist footfalls in Cuba tumble, putting the cash-strapped communist island on track for its worst showing since the pandemic. The country received 1.4 million foreign visitors during the first nine months of the year, down 20% versus the same period in 2024, according to the latest data from Cuba’s national statistics agency.

While tourism tends to tick up during the final quarter, it’s unlikely the island can match last year’s total of 2.2 million, which was the worst showing in two decades save for the pandemic collapse of 2020-2022.

Cuba's tourism industry — once a major  economic motor — has been hammered by power outages, shortages of food and basic goods, global turmoil and US economic sanctions.

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At its height in 2018, the island received 4.7 million foreign visitors with tourism revenue peaking the previous year at $3.3 billion, according to research by Paolo Spadoni of Augusta University in Georgia.

In addition to a key source of hard currency, the industry is a major employer in an economy whose services sector represents nearly three quarters of gross domestic product. Government officials said earlier this year that GDP contracted 1.1% in 2024, the second-straight annual decline.

Canadians continue to make up the bulk of international travellers, representing more than 40% of all visitors followed by Cubans living abroad, Russians and US citizens. All of those groups have registered a drop of at least a fifth so far this year, with Russian visits down more than a third.

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One of the only nationalities to see an uptick in travel to Cuba versus last year was Argentina. The South American country has seen a boom in shopping and travelling abroad recently thanks to a stronger currency.

The lack of visitors is exacerbating Cuba’s worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union. While Washington and others blame the authoritarian regime, the government in Havana points to the decades old US trade embargo.