- Cuba tourism declines 62pc from January to July 2026
- 419,000 visitors arrived compared to 1.1m in 2025
- US energy embargo imposed in January 2026
- Meliá, Iberostar and Royalton suspended contracts
- Major airlines suspended flights to Cuba
Cuba’s tourism has declined by 62pc from January to July 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 according to official figures that revealed the drop in the island’s strategic sector. A report published by the National Office of Statistics and Information indicates that 419,000 visitors have arrived in Cuba so far in 2026 compared to 1.1m during the same period in 2025. The report quantifies the absence of tourists on the island’s streets with hotels, hostels and private accommodations closed as well as beaches, shops and attractions with few international visitors.
US President Donald Trump imposed a radical energy embargo on the island in January pressuring for a change in its political and economic model. This exacerbated a pre-existing crisis caused by other US sanctions and a failed internal financial reform that triggered inflation. Between May and July the US State Department revealed sanctions against the heart of this industry on the island with measures ranging from freezing accounts to being barred from operating in the US financial system.
Chains including Meliá and Iberostar and Royalton suspended all their contracts in the Caribbean nation. Visa and Mastercard payment gateways were also withdrawn. Major Canadian airlines and global carriers including Air France, Turkish Airlines and Iberia had already suspended their flights after the government stated planes could no longer refuel on the island. Cuba received approximately 4.3m tourists in 2019 and over the past 30 years the travel industry had become an economic engine with revenues reaching $3bn annually.
