Cuba tourism collapses as visitor numbers tumble 58% amid sanctions and fuel shortages

In the first five months of this year Cuba received about 360,000 foreign tourists, a 58% drop compared with the same period last year. The neighboring Dominican Republic attracted roughly ten times more visitors over six months. The steep decline has left hotels largely empty and turned Havana’s historic centre, La Habana Vieja, into a nearly deserted street scene.

Street musician Elio, who has played in Plaza Vieja for nearly three decades, says, “Maybe everyone stayed home. In an hour only one tourist passes.” The tourism slump is compounded by a severe fuel shortage that has disrupted road transport, energy supplies, and air travel, prompting some airlines to cancel flights because they can no longer refuel aircraft on the island. At the same time, Washington has intensified pressure on foreign firms operating with the Cuban military, leading several international hotel chains to exit the market.

U.S. officials claim the sanctions aim to spur political and economic reforms and attract greater foreign investment. Lucy Davis, director of the Cubania travel agency, warns that “travel to Cuba now increasingly resembles dark tourism” and notes her agency now focuses more on gathering food donations than arranging trips. Despite the crisis, Cuban authorities continue building new accommodation capacity, while economists caution that the island’s heavy reliance on tourism, combined with the sanctions, deepens the economic downturn.