Cuban Tourism Boosted by Cubans from Abroad

The Cuban community living abroad was the second largest group of visitors Cuba had in 2022, according to official reports.

In total, last year, 333,191 Cubans residing in other nations arrived in the country, according to official data published by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).

The United States was the largest source of Cuban visitors to the island, with 286,443 arriving from that territory in 2022, a considerably higher number than those arriving in 2021 (29,451).

Spain and Canada followed, with 15,599 and 6,922 Cubans from those countries, respectively.

Panama, Germany, Mexico and France are also included on the list, as other boarding points for compatriots who arrived last year.

ONEI statistics indicate that Cuban tourism only reached a hotel occupancy of 15.6% and 1.6 million international visitors during 2022, well below the aspirations of the Cuban government for last year. Forecasts for 2023 are optimistic, but Cuba still has a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Although the index assumes a recovery of more than 200% compared to 2021, it did not reach the expected number of 1.7 tourists.

In 2022, Canada was at the top of the list for the number of international visitors, with 532,487 tourists, while Cubans from abroad were in second place, and the United States was in third place, which contributed 100,494 tourists in total.

The Cuban government once again extended the extension of stay to its citizens abroad for more than 24 months, a measure that allows them to preserve their residence on the Island, which was taken for the first time in 2020, after the international closure of borders by the covid pandemic.

In November 2020, when Cuba reopened its airports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Cuban citizens residing in the national territory who were abroad could return to Cuba with their expired passports.