HAVANA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Cuba received 65.1 percent fewer international visitors in the first nine months of this year than in the same period of 2025, amid a deepening tourism crisis and tighter U.S. sanctions against the Caribbean island, official data showed Wednesday.
The island received 477,707 international visitors from January to September, down 890,140 from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the National Office of Statistics and Information.
Canada, Cuba's largest source market for international tourists, saw the steepest decline, with visitor numbers falling by 430,460. Arrivals from Russia decreased by 67,205, while visits by Cubans living abroad dropped by 60,081. The number of visitors from the United States fell by 42,984.
Tourism is one of the Caribbean country's main sources of foreign currency, but the sector is going through a crisis marked by suspended air routes, hotel closures and the withdrawal of international companies.
The Cuban government said in July that U.S. pressure had prompted seven international hotel chains to withdraw from the island, including Spain's Melia, Iberostar and Barcelo.
The crisis has been compounded by U.S. restrictions on oil supplies imposed since January, including threats of tariffs on countries supplying fuel to the island, as well as expanded sanctions introduced in May.
Cuba has been subject to a U.S. economic, commercial and financial embargo for more than six decades. In June, Cuba's National Assembly of People's Power approved a package of 176 economic and social reform measures aimed at liberalizing the economy, including provisions to attract new investors and expand private-sector participation in tourism. ■
