More than 70% of hotels in Cuba have closed due to U.S. sanctions, which have caused an ‘almost total paralysis’ of tourism, a key sector of the country’s economy, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said Wednesday.
More than 70% of hotels in Cuba have closed due to sanctions imposed by the United States, which have caused an ‘almost total paralysis’ of tourism, a key sector of the country’s economy, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said on Wednesday.
‘The consequences of the fuel shortage and the sanctions have led to an almost total paralysis of tourist services,’ Marrero told Parliament.
The Prime Minister specified that currently, 73% of hotel establishments have closed their doors.
“Following the pressures exerted, seven hotel chains, which managed 46% of the country’s rooms, have withdrawn,” he said.
The withdrawal of these international hotel groups leaves “around 25,000 employees in a vulnerable situation,” Mr. Marrero announced, in an initial assessment made by the Cuban government on the impact of Washington’s sanctions on this sector.
Tourism is the second-largest source of foreign currency income in Cuba. Until January, the sector employed more than 300,000 people on the island, which has 9.4 million inhabitants.In addition to the fuel supply blockade imposed in January, which caused the worst economic and energy crisis in Cuba in decades, President Donald Trump’s administration has, in recent months, rolled out sanctions targeting Cuban leaders, companies, and institutions.
After the sanctions in May against the Cuban military conglomerate GAESA, several international chains stopped managing hotels operated in partnership with this group to avoid U.S. restrictions. However, some, like the Spanish chains Meliá and Iberostar, have kept properties managed in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.Washington announced new sanctions against this ministry this month, extending pressure to operations that had so far remained on the sidelines.
After the official announcement in February about the aviation fuel shortage caused by the U.S. oil blockade, Canadian, Russian, and European airlines also announced the suspension of their flights to the island.
Between January and June, tourism collapsed by 58% compared to the same period in 2025, according to official data.
