MIAMI, United States. – Tourism in Cuba is still not recovering, or at least it’s not reaching the numbers that Cuba’s rulers are hoping for.
Statistics published in the El Economista de Cuba portal and disseminated by the state press indicated that in January 2023, the country registered approximately 246,000 visitors, more than the 86,424 who arrived during the same period last year.
This number, however, is still not enough when the goal is to reach over 3 million visitors, especially when considering that tourism in Cuba right now is in its high season.
Our source indicates that this increase was possible thanks to “various international travel agencies reaching out to Cuba showing interest in the country as tourist destination, since Cuba still has its pleasant climate.”
If this tendency keeps up, Cuba would still not welcome 3 million tourists in 2023, A number still farther away from the 3.5 million the island’s authorities have projected.
In 2022, Cuba welcomed 1’614,087 visitors, 1’585,712 of them arriving via airlines and the rest arriving in yachts and cruise ships.
Cuba’s principal tourism market was Canada, with 532,487 visitors, followed by Cubans who reside abroad (333,191), United States (100,484) and Germany (58,715).
These main tourism markets alone accounted for 68.6% of all arrivals to Cuba in the last year.
According to El Economista de Cuba, to keep its options of reaching the projected goal of 3.5 million tourists, the island must welcome 42.1% of visitors – approximately 1’475,000 visitors- in the first four months of this year.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba started losing regional ground, placing behind countries like Mexico and the Dominican Republic, according to specialized consultants.
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