Cuba: The Influx of Tourism Increased by 103% in the Last 5 Months of 2024

Cuban Beach Photo: MINTUR

June 21, 2024 Hour: 8:44 pm

Despite the high percentage, the island is on the verge of breaching its annual visitor target,

On Friday, the National Bureau of Statistics and Information (ONEI) in Cuba, reported that, from the beginning of 2024 until last May, the Greater Antilles received 1.1 million tourists until May this year, 102.7% more than the same period in 2023.

Despite the high percentage, the island is on the verge of breaching its annual visitor target, being bad news for the Cuban tourism industry.

The Caribbean country has received a total of 1,174,888 international visitors in the first quarter, after adding 150,492 in May. The cumulative figure represents only 34% of the target of 3.2 million by 2024.

To meet the government objective, the island must receive an average of 289,302 tourists per month until the end of the year, a figure that could not be reached in any of the months of the high season, which includes December to March.

1/5 Mayo fue un mal mes para el turismo internacional en Cuba. Menos visitantes que los de igual mes de 2023 y el acumulado de enero-mayo creció muy poco en comparación con 2023. La única nota positiva fue el “salto” interanual de visitantes de EE.UU (+85,5%) pic.twitter.com/7D7EWrJ7rC
— Pedro Monreal (@pmmonreal) June 21, 2024

The Text reads,
May was a bad month for international tourism in Cuba. Fewer visitors than in the same month of 2023 and the accumulated January-May grew very little compared to 2023. The only positive note was the year-on-year “jump” in visitors from the USA. UU ( +85.5 %)

By country, the 541,871 travelers from Canada -the main issuing country- stand out, followed by the United States (102,767). It is followed by Russia (70,668) and England (33,351).

Meanwhile, Spain, traditionally among the first five issuing markets, falls to the ninth position with 21,543 passengers, behind Italy, France and Germany.

On the other hand, the Cuban community abroad remains the second group with 129,714 people, despite a fall of just over 10 percentage points in annual terms.

The unsuccessful figures of Cuba, seeks to compete with the other two tourist destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, which are Punta cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancun, Mexico.