CUBA · TOURISM
Key Facts
- What happened Cuba received 450,353 international visitors from January to August 2026, 64.4% fewer than a year earlier.
- August Only 30,490 visitors arrived, against about 136,000 in August 2025; only June was weaker this year.
- Biggest loss Arrivals from Canada, Cuba’s top market, fell 75.6% to 128,400.
- The hotels Seven foreign hotel groups managing 46% of rooms have left, the government acknowledged in July.
- The catch Power is failing too: the grid went down nationwide on 18 September, at least the seventh time this year.
- Havana’s answer New rules admit private travel agencies and let foreign firms operate directly in Cuban tourism.
This story is part of our coverage of the Cuba US tensions. Who backs Havana, the blackouts, the embargo vote and what it means for travellers are in our dossier.
New official figures show Cuba tourism shrinking further in August, as flights, hotels and electricity all fail at once.
Cuba tourism fell even further in August, according to official figures released on Thursday 24 September. The island received 450,353 international visitors from January to August 2026, 64.4% fewer than in the same months of 2025.
August alone brought just 30,490 visitors, the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) said. Only June, with 28,100, was weaker.
The Cuba Tourism Numbers
The eight-month total is only 35.6% of last year’s level, or 813,979 fewer visitors, ONEI data show. In August 2025, about 136,000 visitors had arrived.
Counting all travellers, a broader ONEI category, arrivals reached 888,756, down 50.5%. The Rio Times reported the January–July figure of 419,863 earlier this month.
At that point the decline stood at 62.8%, and August pushed it to 64.4%. Month by month, arrivals have held between 28,100 and 35,561 since March, with July and August each about 77% below 2025.
The contrast with the boom years is stark. Cuba received about 4.7 million visitors in 2018 and 4.3 million in 2019, after the US–Cuba thaw.
Where the Visitors Went Missing
Canada, Cuba’s main market, sent 128,400 visitors, down 75.6%. That is 397,839 fewer Canadians than in the first eight months of 2025.
The Cuban community abroad supplied 103,481 visitors, down 35.6% from 160,751. Arrivals from the United States halved to 41,971.
Russia fell 73.3% to 21,563. Mexico sent 22,246 and Argentina 15,144, both down by more than 40%.
European markets shrank too. Spain fell 68.3% to 10,447 and Italy 61.2% to 8,669.
ONEI itself singled out Canada, Russia, the Cuban community abroad and the United States as the largest declines. Together those four markets account for more than 556,000 of the missing visitors.
Why Cuba Tourism Keeps Falling
According to the Spanish news agency EFE, US pressure since January paralysed flights and secondary sanctions drove out the main hotel groups. Tourism is one of Cuba’s three biggest sources of hard currency.
A shortage of jet fuel led Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Sunwing to suspend service, CiberCuba reported. Canada, the United States, Britain, Argentina and Ireland have issued travel advisories.
Air Transat has not flown passengers to Cuba since February, and no direct Canada–Cuba flights remain, The Rio Times reported this month. In July the government acknowledged that seven international hotel groups had left under US pressure.
They managed 46% of the country’s more than 80,000 rooms, including Spain’s Meliá, Iberostar and Barceló.Canada’s Blue Diamond, Indonesia’s Archipelago International and Turkey’s ATG also left.
CiberCuba puts the share of hotels closed at 73%, with occupancy around 21.5%. CiberCuba links the hotel exits to US sanctions on GAESA, the military-run conglomerate that controls much of the hotel sector.
A Grid That Keeps Failing
On 18 September the national grid failed again, leaving millions without power. It was at least the seventh nationwide blackout this year: DW counted seven, CiberCuba at least eight.
“A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred,” the Energy Ministry posted on X. At one point only 5% of Havana had electricity. Blackouts of more than 30 hours have become common in Havana, and some provinces have gone past 60 hours.
Cuba’s power plants depend on imported fuel, which US restrictions imposed in January have made scarce. Havana blames US sanctions for the shortages.
Washington says the outages reflect the failures of Cuba’s state-run economic model. An independent study released last week estimated that 66% of Cubans now live in poverty, up from 45% in mid-2025, DW reported.
What Havana Is Doing
In June the government approved a package of 176 economic reforms, including new business models for private firms in tourism, EFE reported. These cover hotel management, car rental and passenger transport.
Private operators can also work as tour agents and guides. The government plans a 1% levy on these businesses to promote the sector’s sustainability and image.
Rules published in the official gazette on 3 September admitted private travel agencies and let foreign firms operate directly in the market. None of them handed management of state-owned hotels to private operators, The Rio Times found.
Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said on 7 September that there were no negotiations with Washington at present.
Why It Matters If You Plan to Travel to Cuba
If you are thinking of a trip, check flights first. Direct links from Canada, once the backbone of Cuban tourism, have disappeared for now.
Confirm that your hotel is open and ask how it copes with power cuts. With most hotels closed, bookings made through third parties may not reflect the current situation.
Expect long power cuts that affect water, cooking gas, phones and transport, as well as hotels. Read your government’s travel advice before booking; Canada and Britain advise against non-essential travel.
For investors in the region, the figures show how fast a tourism economy can unravel. Flights, fuel and foreign hotel partners have all fallen away together.
What Comes Next
ONEI will publish September arrivals next month. Watch for any return of Canadian winter flights and for the first private agencies and foreign operators under the new rules.
Sources: EFE via ABC Color, ONEI figures for January–August, 24 September 2026; CiberCuba, market breakdown and hotels, 24 September 2026; Infobae, monthly arrivals and hotel exits, 24 September 2026; DW, nationwide blackout, 19 September 2026.
More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tourists visited Cuba in 2026?
Cuba received 450,353 international visitors from January to August 2026, according to ONEI. That is 64.4% fewer than in the same period of 2025.
Why has Cuba tourism fallen so far?
US pressure since January has disrupted flights and fuel, and sanctions drove out major hotel groups. Repeated nationwide blackouts have also hurt the tourist experience.
Are Canadian airlines still flying to Cuba?
No. Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat and Sunwing have suspended Cuba service because of the jet-fuel shortage. Check with your airline for any change before booking.
Is it safe to travel to Cuba now?
Several governments have issued travel advisories, and Canada and Britain advise against non-essential travel. Long blackouts affect water, transport and communications, so plan carefully.
Connected Coverage
- Cuba Tourism Falls 62.8% to 419,863 Visitors in Seven Months
- Air Transat Counts US$84 Million Cost of Cuba’s Tourism Collapse
- Cuba Tourism Opens to Private Firms as Talks Stay Frozen
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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