The Ministry of Tourism of Cuba has approved a new regulation that allows private actors to engage in vehicle rentals and land tourist transportation, an activity that had until now been nearly exclusively reserved for state-owned companies.
It is about the , signed on August 31 by Minister Juan Carlos García Granda and published in the .
The regulation states, according to its second article, that its provisions apply to "state enterprises, modalities of foreign investment, and authorized forms of non-state management allowed to engage in land tourist transportation activities within the national territory."
This regulation repeals Resolution 121 of 2005 from the Minister of Tourism, which governed the rental of tourist vehicles and was in effect for over two decades.
The very considerations of the new resolution acknowledge that the opening is a response to a change in circumstances: "the current conditions under which tourism transport is developed, including the access of new economic actors to this activity," justify the issuance of a new legal provision.
The regulation distinguishes between two types of operators with different requirements.
Those intending to engage in the rental of motor vehicles must have a properly insured fleet, updated transportation inspections, an operating license, roadside technical assistance coverage, a customer service unit, minimal maintenance infrastructure, and a tourist license.
Tourist transport companies must meet the same requirements and add others: air conditioning in all vehicles—except for sightseeing buses—audio systems, reclining seats, regular cleaning of the fleet, fire extinguishers, first aid kits, and certification of medical check-ups for professional drivers.
The regulation defines "vehicle" in broad terms: "buses, minibuses, cars, motorcycles, and bicycles of any type of propulsion."
Applications for licensing must be submitted to the Ministry of Tourism along with documentation that includes the articles of incorporation, the certification of registration in the Commercial Registry, and the details of the operational center.
Resolution 70 is part of the package of 176 economic transformations that Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz presented to the National Assembly in June, with Axis 17 explicitly contemplating the opening of tourism to private actors, including travel agencies, tour guides, and car rentals.
The legal pathway for this opening was completed on July 22, when Decree 160 from the Council of Ministers removed the activity of travel agencies from the list of businesses prohibited to non-state management forms.
The same Gazette No. 73 also publishes the , which approves the new Regulations for Travel Agencies of the Republic of Cuba and repeals resolutions 131 and 132 of 2021.
The government enacts these regulations at a time when tourism is experiencing the worstcrisis in its history: the sector recorded a 60.7% decline in international visitors during the first half of 2026, with 73% of hotels closed and around 25,000 workers in the sector on standby by the end of August.
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