In brief
Cuba's inbound visitor numbers fell 58.4% in the first half of 2026, according to national statistics. The Trump administration’s tightened sanctions targeted the tourism sector, prompting airlines like Air Canada to exit the market. Spanish hotel chains ceased operations ahead of a June deadline to stop business with the state‑owned Gaesa. The crackdown exacerbates fuel, medicine and food shortages, leading to garbage piles, power cuts and public protests.
Cuba’s national statistics agency, Onei, reports that fewer than 360,000 foreign visitors arrived in the first five months of 2026, a dramatic 58.4% drop from the same period last year.
The tightening of U.S. sanctions by the former Trump administration has hit the tourism sector hard, slicing revenue that once formed a vital lifeline for the Cuban government.
Airlines such as Air Canada have suspended flights to Cuba indefinitely, citing ongoing political and economic uncertainty. Spanish hotel chains Meliá and Iberostar also halted operations ahead of a June deadline set by Washington for companies to cease doing business with Cuba’s armed‑forces‑controlled conglomerate Gaesa.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has denounced Gaesa as a “state within a state”, accusing it of hoarding profits for a small elite and repressing dissent. The embargo also triggers an oil blockade, worsening shortages of fuel, medicine and food across the island.
With fuel scarce, vital sectors such as waste collection are stalled, leaving piles of garbage accumulating in city streets. Power cuts have become frequent and extensive, sparking rare public protests in a country where dissent is often met with prison sentences.
The crisis extends into everyday life: AFP reports that even communion wafers are running out, with priests rationing the items due to electricity cut‑backs that limit production in a Havana monastery.
