Cuba receives 64.4 percent fewer visitors through August 2026

Cuba received 450,353 international visitors from January through August 2026, compared with more than 1.26 million in the same period of 2025. The difference was 813,979 people, a decline of 64.4 percent. August arrivals totaled 30,490, fewer than the 32,272 recorded in July.

The decline also affected the main source markets. Canada accounted for 128,400 visitors, Russia 21,563 and Spain 10,447, representing year-over-year decreases of 75.6, 73.3 and 68.2 percent, respectively. The tourism figures cover the first eight months of the year.

Meliá, Iberostar and Barceló stopped managing hotels in Cuba. Meliá informed Spain’s National Securities Market Commission that it would end management and marketing services at its Cuban properties beginning July 24. It managed 34 hotels at the beginning of the year. Iberostar first left 12 of its 18 properties and later the remainder; Barceló ended operations at two Varadero hotels. The end of those contracts does not mean every property closed permanently.

ECLAC estimated that Cuba’s GDP contracted 3.8 percent in 2025 and projected declines of 10.3 percent in 2026 and 5.1 percent in 2027. These are forecasts subject to revision, not final results. In July, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said 73 percent of hotel facilities were closed and about 25,000 workers were classified as available for reassignment.