Cuba’s tourism industry is in freefall amid a severe fuel crisis triggered by US sanctions halting oil supplies from Venezuela and Mexico, leading to the closure of over two dozen state-owned hotels and widespread flight suspensions.
Books have collapsed since the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs issued an alert advising against non-essential travel due to the deteriorating economic and humanitarian situation, marked by rolling blackouts, transport paralysis, and increased insecurity in Havana. The capital is now described as a ghost town.
Tourism revenue has plummeted by 70pc since 2019, affecting 300,000 Cubans reliant on the sector, with private hosts facing mass cancellations and airlines from Russia and Canada repatriating citizens owing to aviation fuel shortages.
Local operators are adapting with electric tricycles and bicycle taxis, but the outlook remains bleak under the longstanding US economic blockade.
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