The Spanish tour operator Soltour revealed its strategy to absorb the flow of travelers who are no longer traveling to Cuba: to focus on Dominican Republic and Jamaica as alternative destinations within the Caribbean.
Mateo Ramón, CEO of Soltour, gave an interview to Hosteltur during a familiarization trip to the Dominican Republic that included nearly a hundred travel agents from Spain and Portugal.
"We have a significant commitment to the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, which means we have no issues transferring travelers from Cuba to those destinations," he stated.
The executive acknowledged that Cuba has experienced a decline, although he clarified that this market was not the most significant for his company. What is noteworthy is that the redirected travelers "are responding positively," according to his words.
The context surrounding this reorientation is devastating for the island. Cuba received only 450,353 international visitors between January and August 2026, a decline of 64.4% year-on-year and nearly 814,000 fewer tourists than in the same period of 2025, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
The Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz admitted before the National Assembly that 73% of the country's hotel facilities were closed and that around 25,000 workers in the sector were in a state of "availability," an official euphemism for covert unemployment.
The causes of the collapse of tourism in Cuba are diverse, in a scenario exacerbated by the deep energy crisis, blackouts, issues with air connectivity, and a significant reduction in visitors from some of its main source markets, and U.S. sanctions. Cuba closed 2025 with only 1.81 million tourists, and in 2026 the decline has deepened.
Canada, historically the main source market for the island, saw a drop in visitors from 526,239 between January and August 2025 to just 128,400 in the same period of 2026. The main Canadian airlines —Air Canada, WestJet, and Air Transat— suspended flights and packages to Cuba, accelerating the shift toward other destinations.
While Cuba sinks, the Dominican Republic recorded 8,556,415 visitors by air and sea between January and August 2026, a 6.9% increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to official data.
Soltour is part of the Piñero Group, a Spanish family-owned company with a strong presence in the Caribbean through the Bahía Príncipe hotel chain. The company has revamped its offerings in the region through a partnership with the Hyatt Group, which has allowed them to theme and segment their hotels into three categories: families, children, and adults only.
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