Seven Hotel Chains Exit Cuba as 73% of Hotels Close Under Sanctions
Updated
Updated · Euronews · Jul 30
Seven Hotel Chains Exit Cuba as 73% of Hotels Close Under Sanctions
3 articles · Updated · Euronews · Jul 30
Summary
Seven international hotel chains have now ceased operations in Cuba, with Meliá ending management of 34 hotels on July 24 and Iberostar and Barceló also confirming their exits.
US sanctions on military-linked conglomerate GAESA and a worsening aviation fuel shortage have pushed the tourism sector into what Prime Minister Manuel Marrero called "almost total paralysis."
73% of Cuban hotels are now closed, and about 25,000 workers have been left in a vulnerable situation as airlines from Canada, Russia and Europe suspended flights after Havana flagged fuel shortages in February.
360,000 international visitors arrived between January and June 2026, down 58% from a year earlier, after Cuba logged just 1.81 million tourists in 2025—its worst result since 2002.