The Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz inaugurated the 44th edition of the FITCuba 2026 International Tourism Fair on Thursday through a pre-recorded video shared on the YouTube channel of the Ministry of Tourism.
Marrero stated that "every time a tourist travels to Cuba, they are helping the Cuban people" and proudly insisted that while the country is in crisis, "investments in the Cuban tourism sector have not stopped."
The virtual format —marketed by the regime as a commitment to "technological modernization"— is actually a reflection of the collapse of Cuban tourism, which historically held this fair with grand in-person galas and receptions for international operators.
In his speech, Marrero thanked foreign business partners and delivered a message of optimism disconnected from reality: "We are optimistic, we believe these sanctions will not be lasting and that we can gradually return to normalcy."
He also promised that Cuba will be ready to welcome visitors: "They may block us energetically, they may block us economically, but they will not be able to block our sun, they will not be able to block our beaches, they will not be able to block the hospitality of the Cuban people."
What Marrero omitted in his speech is that about 300,000 people linked to the tourism sector have lost their jobs and income as a result of the collapse of the sector, to which the regime itself proposes to relocate them to garbage collection or agriculture.
The data is staggering: Cuba received only 298,057 international visitors in the first quarter of 2026, a decline of 48% compared to the same period in 2025.
In March, the number was just 35,561 tourists, compared to approximately 170,000 in March of the previous year, a contraction of 79%.
The Russian tourism plummeted to 249 visitors in March, while Canadian tourism — historically the main market — saw only 511 tourists that month, compared to 98,663 in March 2025, a decline of 99.48%.
Gaviota S.A., the hotel company controlled by GAESA and the Cuban Armed Forces, closed 20 hotels in Cayo Santa María, leaving more than 7,000 workers unemployed.
The hotel occupancy fell to 18.9%-21.5% in the first quarter, with more than eight out of every ten rooms empty.
Marrero's speech occurs at a time of heightened geopolitical tension.
On the same day as the inauguration of FITCuba, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added new Cuban entities to its restriction lists, and the U.S. Navy completed the Flex 2026 military exercises in Key West, 140 km from Cuba, announcing that its "hybrid fleet is ready."
Díaz-Canel himself alerted on April 16 about a "possible military aggression from the U.S." and urged the people to prepare to combat it, in a context where the impact of the sanctions on Cuban tourism is intensifying week by week.
While the prime minister invites the world to "help the Cuban people" by traveling to the island, that same people has been suffering from blackouts, shortages, and a structural crisis caused by 67 years of communist dictatorship, not by the external sanctions that the regime uses as a propaganda shield.
The year 2025 ended with 1.81 million international visitors, the lowest figure since 2002 excluding the pandemic, and since 2018, Cuban tourism has lost 62% of its visitors: from 4.7 million to less than 300,000 in the first quarter of 2026.
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