Canadian and Russian Tourists Abandon Cuba in Droves
Tourism from Canada and Russia has dropped by 33% and 49%, respectively, while European arrivals hit historic lows.
HAVANA TIMES – The number of Canadian tourists visiting Cuba plummeted by 33% in the first two months of the year compared to the same period in 2024. A year ago, Cuba received 261,009 travelers from Canada between January and February, while in 2025, that number dropped to 176,611, a significant decline of 87,398 visitors, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Tourism published by economist Pedro Monreal this Tuesday.
“The outlook for the 2024-2025 high tourism season in Cuba looks grim. Preliminary data indicate contractions in January-February 2025 among visitors from the country’s four main markets: Canada, the Cuban community, the U.S., and Russia,” the expert stated.
According to the data, the Cuban community’s arrivals decreased from 45,999 to 38,757, a 15.7% drop. Meanwhile, US visitor numbers fell by a smaller margin of 10.9%, from 28,289 to 25,197. However, the most concerning case is Russia. The ally once seen as a savior of Cuban tourism is now showing the sharpest decline of all, with a 49% drop from 43,859 visitors in 2024 to just 22,306 this year.
The figures released by the ministry do not provide the total number of tourists who have arrived on the Island in these two months, so we will have to wait for the publication of the monthly report from the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei). However, there are some other revealing data points.
The decrease in the number of accumulated travelers in January and February 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year has led to some more or less expected declines. One of them is from Argentina, which had a positive balance in 2024 but experienced a downturn that has been confirmed in these first two months, with 7.4% fewer visitors.
The European tourist market continues its downward trend, with Germany experiencing the mildest decline at -14.7%, followed by France at -22%. Spain and Italy saw similar decreases of -25.21% and -25.82%, respectively. However, Spain’s drop is particularly alarming due to the deep cultural and economic ties between the two countries.
According to Cuban authorities, one of the main reasons for this decline is the US visa restriction, which requires European visitors who have traveled to Cuba to apply for a visa before entering the US, rather than benefiting from the ESTA visa waiver program.
This confirmation of Cuba’s ongoing tourism slump comes just two days after the Lisbon Tourism Fair, a key industry event that concluded on Sunday. At the fair, Cuba attempted to market itself as a top travel destination to Portuguese tourists.
The state-run news agency Prensa Latina published a piece on Monday praising the “successful participation” of the Cuban delegation in Lisbon. The Cuban delegation aimed to promote direct air connections to Cuba without a stopover in Madrid. However, this goal appears unrealistic since Portuguese tourists—from a country with a population of 10.5 million—are rarely mentioned in Cuba’s national tourism reports and are usually grouped under the “other” category.
“The high season ends in March, and we will have to wait until October for the 2025-2026 high season to begin. February’s final numbers and March’s figures are yet to be released, but 2025 could be another bad year for tourism in Cuba,” Monreal concluded.
After years of tourism setbacks, the Cuban government has set a modest target of 2.6 million visitors for 2025, compared to 2.7 million in 2024. However, the early numbers from this high season are setting off alarm bells, suggesting that even this lower goal may be difficult to achieve.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
a Canadian from Winnipeg was recently murdered in Varadero and with the ongoing blackouts and price hikes no wonder Canadians are staying home
1. My girlfriend was in Cayo Coco in February 2025 for a week with her teenager daughter at a 4 star resort – they really enjoyed their stay. It was very safe, the attention from the staff was great – yes, not a lot of people at the resort but they said it felt like it was their private resort with less people. The food was good, no one got sick, there was no electricity issues as the resort’ had its own generator.
2. Russians have the money to travel to the places that Canadians need years to put away money for – like Maldives. Don’t worry about Russian economy – 50 countries are helping Ukraine to fight against Russia, in other words 50 countries are fighting directly against Russia, Russia has so many sanctions for years now and… Russia will always not only live but thrive because Russian people have family values and beliefs in God!
You people need to read historical books from the libraries that were written decades ago, not your U.S. owned Wikipedia that changes historical data as they see fit based on what happens in the news! You also believe that it was U.S. who won Nazis.
Just look at the 95% of travelers to Cuba or Dominican or Jamaica -look at how they treat food and staff- – their plates overload with food that both adults and kids end up not eating even half, then going for more. No respect for the people who live in their counties, just entitlement.
Viva Cuba!
I’m still going. In May probably. If I find cheap resort. The beach is absolutely great and with some food from Canada and basic stuff I should be OK. I also take my own alcohol and snacks. I’m cleaning my house from unwanted goodes and many people will be happy.
Those of us who have been visiting Cuba since the “special period” (1990s) following the collapse of USSR, we have been through so many changes., Every trip brought new surprises especially with the monetary system…, the loss of the CUCs, then exchanging our money to CUPs, yes we can use USD, no we can’t , yes we can but restrictions, the CUban debit card, how to tip with loonies and toonies, now using USD for tips etc. The Cuban visa , handed out for years on the plane, the initial ones were awful, small print, hard to decipher, mostly in spanish, then they underwent some changes.. and how do we answer those questions on the declaration forms they handed out, when we are bringing in electronics, donations, used items.. etc.. Now they are online, QR coded.. and Visa is no longer a form to fill out and keep with your passport and ;God help you if you lost it… >. then the food in hotels, dealing with shortages of bread, eggs, yogurt, hamburgers, fries, soda pop, bottle water, potatoes.. Then the prices.. yes still the least expensive of Caribbean trips.. but it is unusual to see prices almost doubled since Covid as amenities go down. But there is a large contingent of us who will never give up on Cuba and we will keep going, because Cuba is uniquely Cuban. I don’t go where the Russian tourists go and I use common sense to stay safe .
Cuba is so safe compared to Dominican Republic. Cubans are one the best people on this planet. We have been about 14 times and my only complaint was how rude the Russians are to staff. Russians are terrible entitled tourists and before we return I will look for a place with least amount if Russians
I was in cuba two weeks ago in Cayo Coco… the resort was run down and staff seemed frustrated and tired …. Understandable as I’m sure they deal with people’s complaints daily and management wasn’t to be found walking around talking to people as I’ve seen at previous resorts…the excursions were great, fun and the people we met in the towns were just as sweet as the rest the Cuban people I’ve met on the resorts… I’m heading back in two days to check out another resort in Veradero at Sol Palmeras.. I previously stayed there six years ago and it needed a little updating then… the food was great and the resort was clean im looking forward to seeing the difference but have been told it’s still a top Cuban resort and has been updated.. During Christmas I was at the Royalton and it was about as good as you could get if not better. The staff were happy friendly and always helpful not to mention the entertainment was great and food was plentiful.. Havana has to be experienced at least once if your a Cuban tourist.. The nightlife and cafe scene was amazing. Highly recommend checking out Hemingway’s in Havana.
My family visited Cuba from Canada, in December 2024, we stayed at Hotel Nacional de Cuba in Havana. The food were plentiful and cheap in the hotel and in other restaurants. Amazingly friendly people. There were NO power outages, or any short comings. We enjoyed the trip to the full. Waiting for our next visit.
I went to cuba five years ago my luggage was misplaced …lots was stolen from it when I got it back … and at that time the nice hotel we paid alot for had food problems , same food pretty well every day ,drinks were very small, my towels had to be replaced with an argument, so every three days we got a new one ,my sheets never got changed , we never had any water bottles in our room …..and the other tourists were 50 percent russian …not nice people from my experience….they pushed in lines for drinks or food ,they became not good when they drank ,they tried to take our beach loungers on the beach as well as at the pool ,this was suppose to be a nice hotel …..yes people were ok , and the beach was beautiful but cuba and our experience turned us completely off of evergoing back again …..and now the future of cuba …..NO SURPRIZE !!!!!!
I just got back from cuba I usually stay in holguin. I do take resorts and do go off grid and rent casas in guardalavaca. Never had power failure yes however the residents in neighboring villages do, that’s so bad of government to do as they have support the needs for resorts. Been said that food and booze is in abundant know since theirs not too many tourists coming to Cuban resorts. I have been to Cuba many times. I never felt afraid. Except from Cuban off duty police officers who haggle for money and intimidate Cuban gals but they say we love Canadian guys. Other than that I have not seen a street cross me. Maybe I’m just big guy no one wants to mess with me but all my friends never had issue except exchanging money on beach where they may take off on you. Best place to get exchange is at the market. Theirs always few guys standing around offering exchanges. But u have to do ur homework on exchange rate in Canada than bargain. I am heading back to cuba. Only flaw I saw was Sunwing reps and Sunwing itself they take Canadians and leave them there without knowing how far is hospital or how will sick get to hospitals from resorts. Because some resorts are very far approx hour or two away from nearest hospital and they do say there is no ambulance. Specially grand memories sanctuary in holguin. I spent 3 hours my first night there. Rest six days and night at my friends near hospital due to my broken ankle slip and fall in my room their a/ c malfunction that’s what they waking up in room that Eli like it was raining. And floor wet as if was flooded. Other than Cubans are nicest of all people I’m looking to buy a property there. That’s my love of Cuba
I love cuba and people need to understand cuba is still very good for tourists and still safe the situation is very very difficult there for the Cubans and this is a,part of the US sanctions and also the government of cuba needs to get strict with the bosses that is stealing the food and give it to their friends to sell it on the street for more money and they need to be policing the airports so that the customs officer or anything pretending to be bosses for the airport, to stop talking the visitors things away that they are bringing for themselves and for friends and family, they are taking it sharing it with their friends that they all work together as a gang they take it home and enjoy it or sell it on the street for money
We were in Varadero Cuba in Feb 2024, and after hearing horror stories directly from people trying to get medical treatment while on vacation (fell on stairs and knee cap rearranged), i won’t consider going back again unless Cuba has better access to pain killers and other medical supplies. It was our 2nd trip there and we enjoyed the people and the weather, etc., but I don’t think it’s worth the risk of not having a medical system to back you up.
I really love Cuba but the country is not rich but the person are wonderful and the power outrages is sometimes but go up and help some of them
The challenge Cuba has is the failing infrastructure and the optics of gouging the consumers in the state-sanctioned stores and restaurants. $50 for lobster at a state restaurant, $7 at a private one. In Old and Central Habana, there are no fair currency exchanges except on the streets, nowhere to buy a reasonably priced bottle of water. The power was off for the whole country the weekend we were there (14-18 March, 2025)…which also led to no water in the city. The country also ran out of fuel (with all of the generators running) and shut down the Habana tour buses for 3 days. They don’t accept their own Pesos for purchases at the airport and only take foreign currency. It was certainly an experience.
If you’re only looking to park yourself on the beach at an all-inclusive, it’s fine. Sun is hot, beach and water are great (but don’t have too high an expectation for the resort food). If you want a hotel in the city and roam the streets, it’s a bit of a gong show on your first time until you spend some time getting a bit street smart and learning the process. It’s very sad to see how some of the people live.
I stayed at Memories Trinidad de Mar all inclusive resort for 3 weeks this February. I had heard about the power outages and food shortages in Cuba. But I felt that things will be ok at the resorts since tourism is cuba lifeblood. There were blackouts but the standby generators kick in within 15 minutes. There were a few mornings with no eggs, but there were beans. They were shortage of certain liquors but there were always beer and regular rum. I came for the sun, warmth and beautiful beach…I got all of them. There were a few of my fellow tourists who were complaining about shortages and service. I remind them that they knew they did not sign up for a 5 star resort and they didn’t pay a 5 star price. For my 3 weeks I paid almost 800 cad per week all in excluding tips. I can’t even survive with that in Toronto. And it takes only about 3 hrs to get there. Shame on me if I complain. I’m looking forward to going to Cuba next winter.
Myself and my wife love Cuba but the government needs to do more to keep tourists coming back , our last visit we had no eggs and bottle water you could not get so no ice either most days , the power and fuel issue.
I would go back in a heart beat but not until things change down there I am sorry I will not be spending money to go to cuba to face these shortages again so I figure I will never go back because things are not going to change anytime soon.
If it wasn’t for us bringing down a suitcase of snacks we would have went hungry and in my case coming from NL Canada we spent over 5 grand the last time we went due to Nl being a Island we have to get off first so the expense just isn’t worth it.
As long as Cuba stays in partnership with Russia. A very evil country Russia is !
I will no longer visit Cuba.
Nor will anyone from my family.
It is very depressing to read these accounts. I have been to Cuba three times and stayed in a hostel in Havana and in Casa’s elsewhere. Things were hard for Cubans when I was there but I always felt safe. I blame a lot of this on the US. I appreciate the strength and resilience of the Cuban people. I also appreciate their culture and educational system, their social programs and their music. I think that tourism and cultural exchanges are important for the Cuban economy particularly when staying in private homes and using local guides. It puts money in people’s pockets which gets distributed to others. If you go take as much stuff as you can in your suitcase to give to the locals. We all have stuff we no longer use that would be welcomed by people who have very little. Take it with you and give it to someone. Clothing, cosmetics, personal care products, sun screen, medical and school supplies. Every little bit helps. Your presence helps. You can’t fix everything but you can fix something
I will not stop going. I went about 18 times and admittedly, the experience is in decline. I do not believe the crime is as high as they say. It is by far the safest on the planet. The cuban people are very kind. These narratives come from the people that say not to go to the hotels because the government gets richer and the people poorer. Everyone is better off when people go. Cuba needs to stabilize the power issue and open more shops that accept international money. If you can buy food, soap, toilet paper, beer, coffee, thats all a tourist needs.
I will never abandon Cuba, as soon as I can will be going back. The one place in the world where greed is not worshipped, I make sure I tip to make up for food Iam eating. No power outrage will dim the beauty of the beaches and spirit of the people.
Like Terrance Hill, I used to go to Cuba to experience the culture (I dance salsa). I no longer go as Cuba has chosen the wrong side of history. And it’s not only the government, it’s also the people. I can understand even if I find it morally wrong to scam a tourist, but to enlist in the Russian army to go kill Ukrainians for money, that it rotten to the core. I will never set a foot on the island again. The people there have lost their moral compass.
I used to bring Canadian music students to Cuba to experience performing for and with the wonderful Cuban students, exchanging our cultures, making important new friendships. These trips took us off the tourist tracks allowing Canadian teens to glimpse the real Cuba that never is displayed on American media which floods our country. The quality of our Cuban friends musicianship inspired our students, our social experiences touched our souls.
That was then but it isn’t now. I cannot recommend travelling to Cuba now as your country is suffering extreme shortages of food and energy. Canadians staying in Cuba need to realize every bite of food they eat is taken from the mouths of Cubans who are starving. Every bit of energy we use deprives Cubans of electricity, water, fuel, etc. Blackouts are crippling. Fuel used to keep tourist facilities running deprives Cubans of auto fuel, water pumps, waste disposal, air conditioning, hospital functions, communications, food refrigeration. And on it goes.
The Cuba government has decided to stand with Russia on the wrong side of history as they decided to invade their neighbour, Ukraine. Cubans can remember when Americans tried the same tactic. Sanctions! Cuba has suffered. Now Russia is heavily sanctioned. Many democratic countries, Canada included, stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which means we should not support Cuba’s ill-advised stance. Canada is a strong supporter of Ukrainian democracy and has many thousands of new Ukrainian people who have taken up residence residence with us.
Cuba is beautiful nation of proud people and a rich heritage. Be well dear friends.
Cayo Coco is still very worthwhile for a vacation, and the natural beaches and near-shore fishing are unsurpassed. It is not an artificial Disney World or glitzy Las Vegas. It is more like a summer camp experience of the 1960s but much more entertaining. The people you meet, both staff and tourists, are very interesting. The food is excellent at some resorts and mediocre at others, but as it is unprocessed, it’s easy on the stomach. Go there and bring vitamins, milk powder, and hospital supplies to help out the people while they continue under very difficult conditions.
Why Russiens don’t have money to visit Cuba ?
In regards to the 1st comment, I had no idea how relevant it was to get robbed at the airport, maybe at the hotels as well. When it happened to myself, returning to Canada, my checked locked luggage was cleared out. I was confused when I got home. Maybe I forgot to pack everything was my first thought. I still go to Cuba a couple of times a year.
I just pack differently now. Less is best. I think it’s desperation of the people. It’s a shame. Sad for my friends there.
My concern was the lack of food and electricity shortages. I am also hearing about no medical aid available.
Last year our resort ran out of eggs. I have read on the Facebook group for my resort that all is well and plenty of food. Hopefully I will make it down next year.
I loved Cuba for many years. But lack of food and drink is impossible to deny even for the Cuba initiated. No diet Coke ever, lack of even Rum and Vodka. Getting excited for a day when bread or eggs are present is just wrong. I get that the Cuban people have nothing and I feel deeply for them. But as a tourist Cuba has to make sure we eat and drink or we are not coming over Mexico or D.R.!
In defense of the people who have no way to answer. It is impossible for a person from Canada to understand the mind set of Cubans. Firstly if you open yourself to be vulnerable you will find that they will take advantage. It happens in Toronto and these people are desperate to make ends meet. We only have to watch CP 24. Now do we need see all that when we have all the help and support needed?
I just returned from two weeks in Cuba where I stayed in a private house. This was my fourth and last visit. My biggest issues are not being able to buy Cuban pesos before travelling and, not changing them back, resulting in careful budgeting. I estimate that there was no power 70% of the time and there were many evenings we spent with only a flashlight. If the government wants tourists they must make changes! Once lost it will be difficult to get them back.
I have visited Cuba more that 40 times during the past 20 years and stayed for 6 to 8 weeks every time. I do not stay in all-inclusive hotels, instead I rent an apartment in Santiago. Although I am Canadian I bring US dollars to pay for my expenses, I also always bring a suitcase of medical supplies to give to local polyclinics. In my opinion the $5000 that I spent every trip is a bonanza for the state and the people because every dollar ends up circulating in the Cuban economy, none goes to the international companies that have partnerships in the hotels. For the first time in decades, I am sitting in Canada. I cannot return and it is a devastating change to my life.
I could endure the endless black outs, I know the city very well and with the advantage of having money I could find food, Unfortunately I have been told by my many friends in the city to stay in Canada, the streets are unsafe and I would be a target for the thieves wandering the streets every hour of the day. This has been confirmed by the endless news articles of crime on the streets. even major streets in the city are dangerous, yesterday there were reports of robberies on Avenida Garzón, Los Americas, and Menedez. No where is safe in the city. The police have no response, it is the responsibility of the people to capture and detain the criminals.
Near the small town of El Oasis, 18km from the city, some moments were covered in anti-government slogans, the police were immediate in their action and with MININT the area was surrounded by police and treated as a major crime scene. If the police were as diligent in the city maybe I could return.
The moral decay of a country with a rich culture and tradition is the worst consequence of the decline of a wonderful people suffering in desperation.
I agree most people in Russia are struggling and many are very busy countries like Turkey are much cheaper and closer than Cuba. People from Canada are very concerned about the large amount people from Canada who got robbed or scammed. With no way to take out foreign currency in Cuba and shortages it no longer the best option, plus the shortage of gasoline and electric power in my opinion.
Russians have no money to come to Cuba. Putin’s war isn’t free.