News · Economy
Cuba received 430,460 fewer Canadian visitors between January and September, a 76.9% drop
Figures from the state National Office of Statistics and Information, reported by Diario de Cuba, show the island received 477,707 holidaymakers in the first three quarters, 34.9% of the same period in 2025.
Between January and September, 477,707 holidaymakers visited Cuba, 34.9% of the number who arrived in the same period of 2025, according to the ONEI figures cited by Diario de Cuba. Over that same period Canada, for decades the main market for Cuban hotels, accounted for 430,460 fewer visitors, a drop of 76.9%.
The paralysis of Cuba's tourism industry and the suspension of Canadian airline flights to the island will make winter holidays more expensive for travellers from that country, according to Canadian travel industry representatives quoted by The Canadian Press. In the same season of 2025, a week at a four-star hotel in Varadero with a flight from Toronto cost under 1,400 Canadian dollars per person; this winter, similar trips to Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are above 1,800 dollars.
John Wood, president of the agency Durham Travel, told The Canadian Press that some of his clients used to visit Cuba between three and five times a year because of the affordable prices and that many are now cutting back on trips. Within his own agency, sales of trips to Cuba have fallen from more than 389,000 dollars in 2025 to 24,000 since the start of 2026, while sales of tours to the Dominican Republic rose from roughly one million to 1.3 million. «The Dominican Republic seems to have absorbed most of the demand that used to go to Cuba», he said.
Ashley Harold, an agent at Flight Centre Canada, said Mexico remains the leading destination despite its higher price. The agents quoted noted that, with affordable Cuban deals gone, Canadians have begun booking winter holidays much earlier, and that other travellers prefer to stay in Canada. Some still travel to Cuba via stopovers in Florida, Mexico or Panama.
Sources: Diario de Cuba
Data updated: 2026-11-10T04:15:00.000Z