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The Cuban regime inaugurated this Thursday the 44th International Tourism Fair (FITCuba 2026) in a completely virtual format, with messages from Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and Tourism Minister Juan Carlos García Granda broadcasted via YouTube.
The regime's central bet to reactivate the sector relies on two new developments announced by García Granda: opening investment in tourism to Cubans residing abroad "in any form, with new facilities," including the leasing of hotels, and expanding associative businesses with micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes) to enhance the offerings and improve the quality of services.
García also thanked "the foreign chains that continue to operate on the island despite the pressures," signaling that the regime urgently needs to maintain those commercial ties.
The event, which runs until May 9 with an in-person day at Josone Park in Varadero, takes place during the worst moment for Cuban tourism in decades: the sector closed 2025 with just 1.81 million international visitors, its lowest figure since 2002 excluding the pandemic, and in the first quarter of 2026 arrivals plummeted by 48% compared to the same period the previous year.
Marrero stated that "tourism is a driving force that generates income dedicated to health, social investment, hotel renovations, and the design of new products that strengthen the sector."
The prime minister assured that "the sanctions imposed on Cuba will not be permanent" and that the country will be ready to offer high-quality services when conditions improve, while announcing a special program to boost domestic tourism during the summer.
These measures deepen reforms that the government itself began to implement since FITCuba 2025, when Marrero announced what he described as "bold" measures.
The first concrete result was the lease of the Iberostar Origin Laguna Azul hotel in Varadero to the Spanish chain Iberostar, effective from January 1, 2026, and the first of its kind in six decades of centralized control.
The virtual format of the fair — a first in its 44 editions — reflects the magnitude of the crisis: hotel occupancy in Cuba fell to 18.9% in 2025, and the cancellations of flights along with fuel shortages make an in-person international fair unfeasible.
The regime's optimistic statements contrast with a collapse of Cuban tourism amidst a global boom in the sector, and with the fact that the fair was held on the same day the U.S. administration announced new sanctions against key companies in the Cuban economy.
Since the historic peak of 4.7 million tourists in 2018, Cuba has lost over 61% of its international visitors, a structural decline that analysts attribute to chronic energy crises, the deterioration of infrastructure, and 67 years of centralized management, which no virtual fair or announcement of partial reforms has succeeded in stopping.
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