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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Economy & Trade

Cuba's tourism exodus: Hotel chains depart, analysts eye future U.S. investment

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Major international hotel chains like Meliá, Iberostar, and Iberostar have withdrawn from Cuba, citing external circumstances and regulatory changes.
  • Cuba's tourism sector has been in decline since before recent U.S. sanctions, failing to recover pre-pandemic visitor numbers.
  • The departure of these chains leaves the Cuban state-controlled GAESA group to bear the costs of maintaining unoccupied hotels, potentially clearing the field for future U.S. investment.

Major international hotel brands are exiting Cuba, a move that analysts suggest could conveniently pave the way for future U.S. investment. Chains including Meliá, Iberostar, Blue Diamond, and Archipelago International have recently withdrawn from the island, with Meliá and Iberostar citing "external circumstances beyond their control" and "adaptation to the international regulatory environment."

external circumstances beyond their control

— Meliá and Iberostarcited as reasons for their withdrawal from Cuba.

This exodus occurs as Cuba's tourism sector faces a prolonged downturn. International arrivals have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, with only 1.6 million visitors in 2022 and 2.4 million in 2023, far below the 4.2 million recorded in 2019. A European travel analytics firm ranked Cuba last among Caribbean destinations for post-pandemic tourism recovery.

adaptation to the international regulatory environment

— Meliá and Iberostarcited as reasons for their withdrawal from Cuba.

The situation has worsened, with visitor arrivals dropping 56% in the first four months of 2026 compared to the previous year. The departure of four major chains means 42 of the country's top-rated hotels are now without their international marketing, brand positioning, and supply chains. Ricardo Torres, an economist, noted that the Cuban partner, Gaviota (GAESA's hotel division), already weakened by crisis and sanctions, will now face the burden of covering fixed costs for these facilities with minimal revenue.

The Cuban partner – the hotel division of GAESA, Gaviota – already weakened by the crisis and sanctions, will have to cover the fixed costs – maintenance, security, electricity – of these facilities with practically no income.

— Ricardo Torreseconomist and researcher at American University, explaining the financial strain on GAESA.

While the Trump administration's intensified pressure on Cuba, including an oil blockade, is a significant factor, analysts like Torres suggest that the hotel operators' departure, though not the primary goal, could be a "convenient byproduct." This aligns with the administration's "transactional foreign policy," especially as reports indicate the Trump Organization explored hotel and golf course ventures in Cuba about a decade ago.

could be a convenient byproduct

— Ricardo Torrescommenting on the potential benefit for future U.S. investment from hotel departures.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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