Tourism in Cuba declines with a record drop in revenue of nearly 62% over the last five years

From our Annals of Apartheid Tourism Bureau with some assistance from our Bureau of Very Bad Wagers Made by Leftist Latrine American Military Juntas

Someone has crunched the numbers and the news for Castro, Inc. is really, really bad. All of its investments in apartheid tourist facilities are not paying off and will most probably never pay off. In other words, Castro, Inc.’s hotel-building obsession is nothing more than wasteful spending on hopeless dreams. Ha. Bad move, Castro, Inc. Even Canadians have come to realize that Cuba is not worth visiting, much less a place for dream holidays.

So, please, keep investing in hotels rather than in the island’s infrastructure. The more hotels you build, the sooner your pathetic little empire will come tumbling down like . . . like . . . a sand castle at high tide.

Loosely translated from Diario de Cuba

Tourism in Cuba is facing a significant decline, with revenues falling by almost 62% over the past five years, according to a new report by Cuba Siglo 21 released on Monday. The think tank quantifies the collapse of the island’s tourism sector and identifies several factors contributing to one of the worst crises in decades.

In the report titled “GAESA Also Shuts Down the Tourism Industry,” economist Emilio Morales reveals that despite investments exceeding $24 billion over the past 15 years, the sector has shown alarming declines in key indicators.

Between January and October 2024, tourist arrivals dropped by 48.23% compared to the same period in 2019, prior to the pandemic. Only 1,718,636 visitors came to the country during these months, far short of the 3.5 million originally projected by the government for this year.

Hotel occupancy stands at just 25%, and sector revenues have plummeted by 61.82% over the past five years, falling from $3.185 billion in 2019 to a mere $1.216 billion in 2023.

The decline affects all major source markets, the report notes. Canadian tourists, who account for 39.41% of the total, decreased by 19.15% compared to 2019. Cuban expatriates recorded a 52.56% drop, while visitors from the United States fell by 73.93%. Europe has also seen significant declines, with countries such as the UK, France, and Italy leading the drop, exceeding 70% in some cases.

The dossier identifies several reasons for this downturn, including the control exerted by the Grupo de Administración Empresarial SA (GAESA) over finances and economic decisions, which has prioritized tourism investments at the expense of strategic sectors like energy, transportation, and agriculture.

Morales attributes the tourism collapse to the broader systemic crisis in Cuba, citing frequent blackouts, urban decay, epidemics such as dengue fever, and rising crime rates, all of which have made the country a less attractive destination.

The report also highlights how mass emigration has reduced the availability of skilled labor, affecting service quality. Additionally, Havana’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has alienated key European markets. The regime’s alliances with international terrorist actors further place Cuba among the limited list of countries associated with such issues, the report adds.

Distrust among Cuban exiles toward calls to invest in the island has also hindered the tourism potential of the diaspora. Many Cuban families increasingly choose the Dominican Republic as an alternative meeting point.

According to Cuba Siglo 21, the tourism collapse poses severe economic challenges. “To reverse the situation, structural issues such as the energy and water supply crises must be addressed, along with improving health security, attracting foreign investment, and fostering international market confidence,” the report advises.

“Meanwhile, other Caribbean destinations continue to grow and attract tourists, leaving Cuba further behind. ‘The locomotive of the Cuban economy is derailed,’ the report concludes.”