32,272 international travelers arrived in July, 92% fewer than the 386,000 recorded in the same month of 2018
. / 14ymedio
14ymedio, Madrid, September 1, 2026 / The number of international travelers who arrived in Cuba this July rose compared with the ruinous previous three months, though this has not prevented the overall balance from remaining catastrophic. Only 32,272 tourists visited the island that month, compared with 28,100 in June. When compared with data from previous years, the well-known debacle becomes even more apparent. This figure is 71% lower than in the same month last year – with 112,000 – and 92% lower than the 386,000 recorded in July 2018, which was the best year on record for the sector.
The fall of Nicolás Maduro in January of this year – detained in a US operation – opened the floodgates for a chain of sanctions from Washington that has caused a radical reduction in tourism figures, although the downward trend was already evident in 2025. Despite this, CubaChequea – the data verification unit of Árbol Invertido – published an investigation this Monday showing that 62% of the investment promoted in the portfolio of opportunities published by the Cuban regime in November 2025 was earmarked for tourism.
The sector accounted for some 10.669 billion dollars in proposals for foreign investors, who were more interested in that segment than in any other. Meanwhile, barely 7% were directed toward food production, the sector most important to the population.
“There are tourism projects seeking around one billion dollars. Meanwhile, 89.2% of food production projects do not exceed 10 million dollars”
“There are tourism projects seeking around one billion dollars. Meanwhile, 89.2% of food production projects do not exceed 10 million dollars,” said Francis Sánchez, director of Árbol Invertido and author of the report, in a video published with the details of the investigation. In his view, this reveals the regime’s lack of interest in what it identifies as a priority, while also clearly reflecting where foreigners would expect to obtain greater returns.
Less than a year has passed, but the picture has changed radically. At this point, the sector is paralyzed by the withdrawal of the airlines – a consequence of the fuel shortage – and of the hotel companies that managed most of the Cuban business.
As in previous months, Cuban Americans are the group best withstanding the decline. So far this year, this group has fallen the least compared with the previous year, with 88,525 arrivals – compared with 140,546 in the first seven months of 2025. The drop is enormous, at 37%, but compared with other countries it is the smallest loss recorded. Something similar is happening with US travelers: although the figure has been cut by more than half, it still reaches 37,351, compared with more than 77,000 in July of last year. Air connectivity with the US is among the most resilient, which explains these figures.
However, this Monday Delta Airlines – which announced in June the cancellation of its direct route between Havana and Atlanta and cut its operations from Miami by 50% – requested an extension of its permit to reduce flights. In a filing to the US Department of Transportation, the airline is asking to keep unused its permit to operate to Havana during the winter season, which runs from October 25, 2026 to March 27, 2027. The company claims that “market conditions did not improve sufficiently” to operate at full capacity.
Although Spain continues to appear on the list of leading source countries for tourists, it has suffered a major decline of nearly 65%
On the opposite end is Canada, which still leads in absolute visitor volume, with 127,645 arrivals, down 70% compared with 2025 levels. Most Canadian tourists, moreover, were received in January and early February, before all the North American country’s airlines canceled their routes to the island. In January 2026 alone, nearly 100,000 Canadians arrived in Cuba, while a month later that figure fell to 24,559. Since then, travelers from that country have arrived only in trickles.
Russia, although it has never reached the same outbound levels as Canada, was also one of the great hopes for the Cuban market, which in 2024 aimed to attract 200,000 tourists from that country. Now, a 70.4% drop is being reported, as only 21,374 Russians have vacationed on the island so far this year, of which 20,668 correspond to the first two months, before – likewise – all the Eurasian nation’s airlines canceled their connections with the country.
As for Europeans, the pattern that has been in place for years continues to repeat itself, which, in the view of the Cuban regime, is due to the visa restrictions imposed on EU citizens – beneficiaries of the ESTA visa waiver program – who have traveled to Cuba. Notable within this group is the case of Spain which, although it continues to appear on the list of leading source countries for tourists, has suffered a major decline – of nearly 65% – despite the fact that its airlines have held out the longest despite the situation.
Air Europa is one of the only connections between the continent and the island, and it plans to continue on that path, with up to five or six weekly flights in December and a daily frequency starting April 1, 2027. Spain is, however, home to the second-largest Cuban community abroad, after the US.
As an anecdotal data point, there is also the figure for Chinese travelers to Cuba. It is the country losing the least market share, although the numbers remain minimal. With 9,209 travelers so far this year – compared with 14,439 in July 2025 – it is “only” down 36.2%.
Translated by GH
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