Cuba tourism plummets as US sanctions trigger flight suspensions and hotel exits

Fewer than 360,000 foreign visitors arrived in Cuba during the first five months of 2026, a 58.4% drop from the same period in 2025, according to the Cuban statistics agency Onei. The decline follows a US pressure campaign under President Donald Trump that targets tourism, a key source of revenue for the island.

Air Canada announced an indefinite suspension of flights to Cuba, and Spanish hotel groups Meliá and Iberostar withdrew from numerous properties ahead of a June 5 deadline for companies to cease dealings with the Cuban military‑controlled conglomerate Gaesa. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticised Gaesa as a “state within a state.”

US sanctions and an effective oil blockade have deepened shortages of fuel, medicine and food, causing widespread power cuts, halted waste collection and even rationing of communion wafers. The state news site Cubadebate reported that the survival rate for children with cancer fell from 85% to 65% since January. These hardships have sparked rare public protests despite harsh penalties for dissent.