From our Annals of Apartheid Tourism Bureau with some assistance from our Bureau of Potentially Fatal Self-Inflicted Wounds and our Bureau of Unintended Consequences of YoYo Behavior
An article by Emilio Morales in Diario de Cuba analyzes the nearly total collapse of Castro, Inc.’s apartheid tourist industry. The figures he cites offer ample proof that the investment made by Castro, Inc. in hotels has not only been a failure, but a driving force in the collapse of the Cuban economy. In other words, Castro, Inc. might be dying from a self-inflicted wound.
This article also reveals that the largest loss sustained by Castro, Inc. is the near-collapse of the YoYo racket. As it turns out, YoYos have always spent much more than foreign tourists, so the reduction in YoYo visitors –which has been substantial — could turn out to be a lethal blow. How ironic. Maybe the gusanos (worms) will end up causing the demise of Castro, Inc.., without much effort.
Abridged from Diairo de Cuba
In addition to the energy collapse currently affecting Cuba, there is also a tourism collapse. The results as of October clearly indicate that tourism is also declining. The industry, which has received prioritized investments over the past 15 years—over $24 billion—shows truly alarming indicators. In the first ten months of 2024, tourist arrivals were 48.23% lower than in the same period in 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
By October 2019, 3,563,494 tourists had arrived, whereas in the same period in 2024—five years later—that number dropped to 1,844,858. These poor results indicate that the post-pandemic recovery period has been disastrous. Today, Cuba’s tourism industry has a low hotel occupancy rate of 25%. Once hailed as the engine of the Cuban economy, it is now facing severe stagnation, reminiscent of the collapse of the sugar industry.
The main culprit for this debacle is the Business Administration Group S.A. (GAESA), which exerts total control over the country’s finances and governance. This superpower has directed the political and economic decision-making over the past 15 years, defining investment priorities and acting with full authority and impunity, overriding government institutions tasked with such responsibilities.
With only two months remaining in 2024, the number of tourists is far from the government’s target of 3.5 million. For the third consecutive year, government plans have fallen short since the start of the post-pandemic recovery process.
Canada, the top source of tourists to Cuba, saw a 19.15% decline by October compared to the same period in 2019. Canadian tourists accounted for 39.41% of the total number of tourists in the first ten months of this year.
The segment of Cuban residents abroad experienced a sharp decline of 52.56% by October. Only 244,116 visited the island between January and October, far below the 513,657 exiles who visited during the same period in 2019. This reduction has had a significant impact not only on the tourism industry but also on remittances. This group represented 13.23% of all travelers to Cuba in the first ten months of this year.
The U.S. market contributed 118,038 travelers, well below the 452,835 recorded in the same period in 2019, representing a 73.93% decline.
Meanwhile, declines among Cuba’s top five European tourist sources have been steep and relentless. Spain contributed just 55,780 tourists in this period, a 54.91% drop from the 123,699 visitors recorded in the same period in 2019. By October, Germany recorded 52,549 tourists, nearly three times lower than the 145,702 recorded in the same period in 2019, reflecting a decline of 63.72%. France, too, saw a steep decline, contributing only 41,432 tourists by October—3.49 times fewer than the 144,572 in the same period in 2019, a drop of 71.34%. Italy contributed just 36,286 tourists, significantly fewer than the 108,426 recorded during the same period in 2019, a 66.53% drop. The UK suffered the sharpest decline among European markets, sending only 24,582 tourists, five times fewer than the 114,596 recorded in the same period in 2019, a 78.55% decline.
The only markets that grew during this period were Russia, with an increase of 24.52%, and Portugal, with an increase of 15.53%. However, the push toward the Chinese market has failed, as the numbers show. In the first ten months of 2024, only 19,727 Chinese tourists visited the island, down from 34,384 in the same period in 2019, a 42.63% decline.
Another failed strategy of the Cuban regime was the orchestrated wave of emigration meant to ease internal political pressure and encourage future remittances and visits from exiles. The outcome has been the opposite.
Despite more than 800,000 Cubans emigrating to the U.S. in the past three years, fewer than half as many now visit the island compared to five years ago. The figures are clear. By October 2019, 511,771 Cuban residents abroad had visited Cuba, including 453,907 U.S. residents. In 2024, only 244,116 Cuban residents abroad visited, including 214,960 U.S. residents.
The declining trend in visits from Cuban residents abroad, particularly from the U.S., is concerning for the Cuban regime. By October 2024, the number of Cuban residents abroad visiting Cuba decreased by 17.82% compared to the same period in 2023, with an even greater decline of 19.23% among those from the U.S.
It is worth noting that this segment is the most profitable, as it rents the most cars and boosts domestic tourism by including relatives on the island in hotel stays. More and more Cuban residents abroad, especially those in the U.S., prefer to travel to Punta Cana or Cancún with their relatives from Cuba rather than vacation together in Cuban hotels.
This preference aligns with the exile’s inclination to rescue their family rather than invest in a small business in Cuba.
These results indicate that the so-called engine of the Cuban economy is failing, much like its energy grid, with its decline reminiscent of the sugar industry’s collapse. The primary factor in this decline has been GAESA’s monopolization of investments in Cuba, overriding state power.
This superpower has caused the so-called engine of the Cuban economy to stall during the three years of post-pandemic recovery. The $24 billion invested in the Cuban tourism industry over the past 15 years has drained the country’s capital and nearly eliminated other strategic sectors in the Cuban economy, such as electricity generation, transportation, healthcare, agriculture, and potable water supply.
Entire article HERE
The regime is only still standing because of its foreign enablers, who are all absolutely complicit with evil.