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Cuba’s Tourism Plummets 62% After US Pressure and Energy Embargo – WTOP News
Tour operators, airlines and payment gateways have pulled back as visitor numbers fell to 419,000, the statistics office said.
Official data released Tuesday by the National Office of Statistics and Information shows Cuban tourism declined 62% between January and July, with only 419,000 visitors arriving in 2026 compared to 1.1 million in 2025.
President Donald Trump imposed an energy embargo in January to pressure Cuba's economic model, while the State Department announced sanctions between May and July freezing accounts and barring financial system operations.
Major chains including Meli, Iberostar, and Royalton suspended Caribbean operations, while Visa and Mastercard payment gateways were withdrawn; airlines such as Air France and Iberia halted flights after refueling restrictions.
Tourism revenues previously reached $3 billion annually, but the industry—once an economic engine attracting 4.3 million tourists in 2019—now faces severe disruption with hotels and accommodations forced to close.
Current tourism struggles exacerbate a preexisting crisis caused by earlier U.S. sanctions and failed internal financial reform that triggered inflation, as the ONEI report confirms a notable absence of tourists on the island's streets.
HAVANA (AP) — Cuban tourism fell between January and July this year by 62% in relation to the same period of 2025, a sharp fall in the strategic sector on the island that is registered after the United States threatened international operators and imposed an energy fence, inform or