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Cuba received just 262,496 international visitors in the first two months of 2026, which represents 112,642 fewer tourists than in the same period the previous year, according to data published this Monday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
In total, including domestic travelers and residents abroad, the country recorded 363,649 arrivals between January and February, just 73.1% of the level registered during the same period in 2025, which is equivalent to 134,080 fewer travelers.
Only in the month of February, international visitors plummeted by 30% compared to February 2025, dropping from 375,138 to 262,496 people.
United States recorded the sharpest proportional decline: from 25,552 visitors in February 2025 to just 11,791 in the same month of 2026, a setback of 53.8%.
Canada, the main source market for tourists to Cuba, also saw a significant decline: from 173,605 to 124,283 visitors, a drop of 28.4%.
The Cuban community abroad reduced its travels by 40.4%, from 38,597 to 23,002 people. France experienced a decline of 44.4%, Spain 32%, and Italy 37.3%.
Russia, one of the few allies maintaining tourist traffic to the island, saw a more moderate decrease: from 22,328 to 20,668 visitors, a drop of 7.4%.
Argentina was the only market with significant growth, increasing from 7,842 to 10,590 visitors (+35%), followed by China, which rose slightly from 4,522 to 5,429 (+20%).
The collapse in February occurs against a backdrop of an acute energy crisis. The interruption of Venezuelan crude oil supply, linked to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro in January, left the nine international airports in the country without Jet A1 fuel, according to the international notice NOTAM A0356/26, in effect since February 10 and extended at least until April 10.
That scarcity caused more than 1,700 flights to be canceled, the repatriation of nearly 27,900 stranded Canadian tourists, and the evacuation of about 4,300 Russian tourists. Air France suspended its Paris-Havana route from March 29 to June 15. The chains Meliá, Iberostar, NH, and Valentín temporarily closed several hotels, including the Iberostar Torre K in Havana, whose closure was officially justified by the country's situation.
The data for February adds to that of January, when Cuba received 184,833 international visitors, a 9% decrease compared to January 2025, marking the worst start of the year in at least 13 years, excluding the pandemic.
The contrast with the regional environment is striking: the Dominican Republic received six and a half times more tourists than Cuba in January 2026, and Mexico closed 2025 with a record high of 47.8 million visitors, while global tourism reached record levels with 1.52 billion international arrivals.
Since the peak of 4.7 million visitors recorded in 2018, Cuba has lost 61.7% of its tourism in seven years, an unprecedented decline that economist Pedro Monreal summarized in February with a straightforward statement: "Cuban tourism is unable to recover."
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