The tourism that has arrived on the island in the last week has not escaped the impact of the massive blackout that occurred on the island since Friday afternoon, which the government is trying to recover from little by little, although still with many evident problems.
"Logically, we came for vacation, to enjoy, to get to know, and poorly, poorly, it went badly for us," declared the Mexican Roberto Jiménez to AFP, who traveled to the island with his partner and friends.
"We didn't even go out, we just peeked out and saw it was very dark," he comments, referring to an attempt to get to know the nightlife of the Cuban capital.
The Mexican, who traveled to the island for the first time, stated that "it's not good because it harms tourism and tourists say: I won't return to Cuba." He also argued that after his return to Mexico, he will only talk about one thing: "That we spent the whole vacation without electricity."
An experience also shared by other visitors who have seen how their expectations for relaxation have turned into disappointment due to the energy collapse on the Caribbean island.
On the day of the disconnection of the national electrical system, the Spaniard Amaya García, 54, arrived in Cuba. She was traveling with her husband when the electricity went out several times at José Martí International Airport, which slowed down the lines for immigration and customs.
Their travel plan was three days in Havana and four in the popular resort of Varadero.
"We didn't have many expectations. We already knew that the country was not doing well, especially, but the blackout has been tough," he noted.
However, a contrasting experience is that of the 37-year-old Belarusian Kostantín Makarov.
"I just came and there's a blackout," Makarov explained in Spanish that AFP described as limited.
However, passionate about the sea, he traveled with his fishing rod and on Monday he began a morning fishing session on the Malecón in Havana.
In Cuba, "life is different, slower (...) people know how to enjoy life. We foreigners don't know," says this man who remembers Belarus 25 years ago, which is why he has traveled to the island eight times.
Despite the regime's efforts to attract international tourism, not only through investments but also by funding global advertising campaigns, the reality of the country presents a different picture that does not go unnoticed by those who arrive.
According to data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), Cuba recorded 1,905,644 travelers from January to July 2024, numbers that fall short of those recorded in the same period last year. In total, 15,263 fewer travelers arrived on the Island in the first seven months of this year.
The numbers show that the island is not improving in attracting the attention of tourists, while neighboring destinations like Punta Cana and Cancun have surpassed it and are projected as more viable options.
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