Cuban Locals Flock to Hotels Amid International Tourism Decline

From January to September 2025, domestic tourism in Cuba experienced a modest rise, despite a severe downturn in international arrivals and the country's ongoing economic and energy crises, highlighted by prolonged blackouts across several provinces.

According to the "Tourism. Selected Indicators. January-September 2025" report from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), there has been an uptick in the number of Cuban visitors staying at tourist facilities and an increase in the revenue generated in Cuban pesos from this market segment.

The ONEI data shows that the number of domestic tourists reached 1,579,431 in the first nine months of 2025, marking a 4.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, which recorded 1,508,741 visitors.

Additionally, overnight stays rose from 4,809,086 to 5,018,753 tourist-days, reflecting a 4.4% growth. Concurrently, room-nights occupied increased by 6%, while available capacity (existing room-days) slightly decreased by 0.7%, which contributed to a rise in the occupancy rate from 7.8% to 8.3%.

The report also highlights that revenue from the domestic tourism market increased from 47,110.2 million pesos to 51,268.3 million, an 8.8% growth in current terms.

The average revenue per tourist-day increased from 9,796.1 to 10,215.3 pesos, a 4.3% rise, indicating that each domestic visitor spent more at the facilities than the previous year, possibly due to higher prices, increased consumption, or a combination of both factors.

ONEI details that nearly half of the domestic tourism revenue comes from gastronomy, accounting for 49.2% of the total. Accommodation represents 17.3%, transport 11.7%, retail 7.5%, while recreation contributes only 2%, with the remainder categorized as “other income” (12.3%).

This breakdown shows that Cuban tourists primarily spend on food and beverages within the facilities, rather than on room rates.

International Tourism Crisis in Cuba

Despite the rise in domestic tourism, official data confirms a structural crisis in the tourism sector, with international tourism continuing to decline. Between January and September 2025, Cuba welcomed 1,366,720 international visitors, a 20.5% drop from 1,719,009 during the same period in 2024.

Foreign overnight stays decreased from 10,227,261 to 8,294,545, an 18.9% reduction, and the hotel occupancy rate linked to this market plummeted from 24.3% to 18.9%.

Revenue from international tourism entities fell from 94,320.6 to 82,885.6 million pesos, a 12.1% decline. Canada remains the largest source market, with 559,715 visitors in the first nine months of the year, but still below the 695,557 of 2024.

The Cuban diaspora also saw a decline, dropping from 224,266 to 177,823 travelers, along with a significant decrease in arrivals from Russia (from 141,612 to 88,879) and several European countries like Germany, Spain, and Italy.

In contrast, some South American markets, including Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, and Peru, show slight growth, although insufficient to offset the overall decline.

The report also categorizes visitors by geographic region, noting that the Americas remain the primary source area with 1,004,171 travelers, but still below the 1,210,435 of the previous year.

The surge in domestic tourism occurs as large segments of the population complain about prolonged power outages and failures in basic services, exacerbated by Hurricane Melissa's impact on the island's eastern region.

For instance, in the province of Guantánamo, residents of the Ho Chi Minh neighborhood recently protested after being left "without power" for days and facing severe difficulties in accessing food and potable water, according to eyewitness accounts to independent media.

In this context, the ONEI numbers paint a contradictory picture: on one hand, more Cubans are using formal tourism services and domestic market revenues are increasing; on the other, international tourism is declining, hotel occupancy is dropping significantly, and the country is grappling with an economic and energy crisis that is reflected in popular protests and the deteriorating purchasing power of most of the population.

While authorities highlight the recovery of national tourism, the data reveals that the sector remains far from overcoming the crisis, with its sustainability increasingly reliant on a domestic market strained by blackouts and inflation.