Juan Carlos García Granda, Cuban Minister of Tourism: ‘Attracting Chinese visitors benefits the whole region’

Juan Carlos García Granda speaks about the titanic challenge he faces: revitalizing the tourism sector on Cuba, an island battered by multiple crises. Cuba’s Minister of Tourism addressed a group of about 30 Colombian tour operators and airline sales managers on Tuesday, explaining the reasons behind the drop in visitor numbers.

Cuba went from welcoming 4.7 million tourists in 2017 (after the thaw in relations with the Obama administration) to just under 2.2 million in 2024. In those six years, the tourism industry has struggled to withstand the blows of the pandemic and escalating tensions with the United States following the arrival of Donald Trump, who returned Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

That designation also creates obstacles for European citizens who visit Havana and then wish to travel to the U.S. later. For that reason, the minister has set his sights in recent years on markets in Turkey, Russia, and especially China. “Attracting Chinese visitors benefits the whole region,” he says.

Although García Granda insists that Cuba has “always” been open to having relations with the U.S. people, he doesn’t hide the fact that current ties are at a low point. “Governments are wrong to prohibit citizens from freely doing what they choose to do. And this is coming from a country the world has marketed as a symbol of freedom,” he said in an interview with EL PAÍS. “Since [these measures] are so irrational, we hope they won’t last long,” he added.

To break into the Chinese market, he explained, Cuba is fine-tuning a complex strategy: diversifying the island’s offerings beyond “sun and beach” tourism, increasing connectivity (Havana now has two weekly direct flights to Beijing and has removed visa requirements), and working to reduce border bureaucracy between countries in the region.

“We need to start talking about visas that can be used across multiple countries, like the Schengen area in Europe. We need to study how the world has done it and apply it in the region to attract common benefits from such distant tourist flows,” he argued at a meeting held at the Dann Carlton Hotel in northern Bogotá.

When asked about how shortages and blackouts affect tourists considering travel to Cuba, García Granda, 62, argued that these issues do not impact the hotel sector thanks to investments in power generators. Such is the government’s commitment that, in 2024, nearly 12% of national investment was allocated to hospitality and restaurant-related activities, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information.

Currently, there are nearly 85,000 hotel rooms in the country waiting to be used. “All the people of Cuba know that the economic benefits of the [tourism] sector are meant to promote prosperity and cushion the effects of these very difficult times,” he concluded.

At the event, he also announced a new flight route from the Colombian city of Barranquilla to Santiago de Cuba, set to launch on July 3, coinciding with the start of the Caribbean Festival.

Question. What benefits will this new direct flight bring to both cities?

Answer. The real benefit is always economic. The flight demonstrates how there are still people with enthusiasm and knowledge of the country, and of the Colombian market. I think they’ve made a gamble that has every chance of winning. Directly connecting a city like Santiago de Cuba, with its culture, heritage, and hospitable people... We’re talking about something that can offer value and knowledge to Colombians.

Q. The tourism sector in Cuba was hit hard by the pandemic. How do you plan to return to pre-pandemic figures?

A. The strategy is to increase connectivity. Given such a difficult scenario, we are trying to strengthen markets we have always had, such as Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. This would partially replace the market share we have lost in the United States, as a result of the decisions of the U.S. government, but we also have a strategy to reach distant markets and encourage them to come to Cuba. We have the example of Turkey, China, and Russia. We are already seeing better flows, and we want to expand them. And we want to do this by providing a unique offering as a region that benefits us and can be shared. Customers not only come to Cuba but also to the Americas. It could be much better if they go to more than one country.

Q. One of the biggest challenges for Cuba’s tourism industry is its relationship with the United States. In order to meet your tourism goals, do you envision a future with different relations?

A. We’ve always been willing to have relations with the people of the United States. That question isn’t for me; you’d have to have a meeting with an official from that country. What I do is try to encourage the flow of people and visits, and the exchange of cultures. Governments are wrong to prohibit citizens from freely doing what they choose to do. And this, from a country the world claims is a symbol of freedom. Ask Obama— what’s the only place “The Beast” [the U.S. presidential limousine] has driven through without anyone throwing a tomato? We are a people above the politics of the U.S. government. Since [these measures] are so irrational, we hope they won’t last long.

Q. How important is the Chinese market for Cuba and the region?

A. One of the fundamental objectives is to assess the obstacles that would allow flows from Cuba to different countries. We need to stimulate connectivity; we need to examine all border and customs requirements to facilitate mobility. Perhaps we need to start talking about visas that can be used across multiple countries, like the Schengen area in Europe. We need to study how the world has done it and apply it in the region to attract common benefits from such distant tourist flows,

Q. You say the blackouts that affect the island don’t impact the hotel sector. Do you think the Cuban people might resent that difference?

A. That’s what the counter-revolution and slanderous campaigns have tried to encourage. All the people of Cuba know that the results of tourism and tourism funds are for prosperity and to cushion the effects of these difficult times. Alongside the state’s contribution, there’s also funding from investors and businesspeople, whose efforts are respected — a core principle of the revolution and of the country. I wouldn’t say there’s an isolated energy generation system, but we’re working so that the weight of our consumption [that of the hotel sector] doesn’t necessarily fall on the population’s shoulders.

Q. Many cities around the world are now criticizing their own tourism models as “failed” — places like the Canary Islands, New York, and Venice. What lessons can Cuba learn from that?

A. Our development is based on science, and we try to ensure that the failed examples of others are not repeated. That’s why Cuba’s beaches are preserved, because we saw that we needed building requirements that prevented you from building at a certain distance from the dunes. To give you an example. But all the country’s development studies investigate successful models and those that haven’t been successful.

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