Other hotels suffer more than the Spanish, and the country’s revenues fall another 12%, with an occupancy rate of only 18.9% of the available rooms
14ymedio, Madrid, November 21, 2025 — “In Cuba, there are signs of recovery despite the persistence of discouraging social network campaigns.” The phrase is not from the Minister of Tourism or any Cuban hierarchy: it appears in the quarterly results report that the Balearic hotel Meliá is obliged to make public as a company listed on the Spanish stock exchange. The company is proud of having recovered a derisory 0.7% occupancy between June and September, which is not little in the panorama of the Island, which so far this year has not managed to fill even one-fifth of the rooms available.
On Thursday, the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI) published its balance sheet for the first nine months of the year. There are few reasons to be satisfied, with an occupancy rate — in international tourism — of just 18.9%. Income also fell by 12%, from 94,320,614,700 pesos in the same period of 2024 to 82,885,5516,000 this year.
Although the exchange rate applied by the government to the sector is unknown, the Cuban economist Pedro Monreal has concluded that everything indicates that it is 120, so the amount represents about $690.7 million, compared to the $786 million that accumulated last year at this point. This is gross revenue, from which expenses must be deducted, not disclosed but very high, because Cuba has to import everything from food to towels for the hotels, all owned by the State.
The amount is about $690.7 million, compared to the $786 million that it accumulated last year at this point
No indicator is saved, since there was also a drop in travelers, now known from the monthly reports, by 20.5% up to September, including the number of nights they decide to spend on the Island: a drop of 20%. If up to a year ago foreigners had more than 10 million nights in Cuba, now there are two million fewer overnight stays. In summary, the four main indicators outlined by ONEI show a substantial decline of the sector.
From the Meliá data it is clear that its hotels get the best share, since the occupancy in its facilities was 40.2%, but all that shines is not gold. The hotel has had to continue to lower rates — 76.2 euros is now its average price, 8.7% less — and, therefore, its performance per room (Revpar) fell by 6.9%, reaching 30 euros. The hotel states in its report that the current Black Friday with its offers and the bet of the tour operators — facing the drop in direct reservations — will end up returning Cuba to its place.
The document takes stock and makes it clear that its bet on Cuba continues against all odds: “US restrictions and the complex energy situation remain the main challenges. However, the creation of a supply chain of our own has improved sourcing, allowing us to gain market share and strengthen our position in the market,” it says in relation to its company Mesol, from which this newspaper has tried to gather information without obtaining any response. In addition, air capacity has increased using the charter mode, especially from key source markets such as Canada.”
The return of the Canadians had been anticipated by Juan Carlos García Granda, minister of the branch, in some tourist areas, but this has not been supported by the current data. After a season of persistent falls, the Canadians return persistently to the Island, being one of the few nationalities that grows in the month of September, when 12.7% more travelers arrived from that country.
However, we will have to wait for the development of the last quarter to know whether it is a mirage, since in global terms, Canadians still represent 20% less than in the first nine months of last year.
Canadians return to the Island persistently, being one of the few nationalities that grows in the month of September, when 12.7% more travelers arrived from that country
Few nationalities have grown in this period, and some of those that do are with a low number of visitors. Among them are Argentina (7.3%), Colombia (11.2%), Turkey (9%) and Peru, (27%) but with only 10,382 tourists.
On the other hand, among those that fall — some of them plummet — are some of the main groups: Cubans abroad (20.7%), US (19.6%), Spain (27.1%) and Germany (43.5%). United Kingdom, where the drop is 56.8% -the largest of all countries listed — does not even count as a powerful nationality, bringing in only 10,175 tourists.
Also among Cuba’s partner countries there are notable collapses, especially — and although it has already strengthened — the Russians, who were the great hope of the year (it was expected to attract 200,000, but they didn’t come in 2024) and reached only 88,879, which is 37.2% less than in the same period of the previous year. The large resources and political efforts made to increase this group have proved fruitless, another failure in the bulky account of García Granda.
Mexico, with 10% less, and Venezuela, with a 20% reduction, have not helped in this sector either. The new hope seems to be China, with whom a strategy similar to that of Russia is being deployed and which is only just beginning to bear very poor fruit. Although the coveted tourists of this nation grew by 4%, their total represents nothing for Havana: only 17,810 Chinese. Many, probably, are the ones who come to trade and monitor their investments.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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