The U.S. embargo and sanctions against Cuba have led to a significant decline in tourism on the island. From January to July of this year, the number of tourists dropped by 62% compared to the same period in 2025, according to official data, as reported by infohub.kz.
A report by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI) shows that 419,000 foreign tourists visited Cuba since the beginning of 2026, compared to 1.1 million during the same period in 2025. This highlights a dramatic decline in a sector of strategic importance to the island.
The ONEI report quantifies the notable absence of tourists on the island's streets, with hotels, hostels, and private accommodations closed, and beaches, shops, and attractions having few international visitors. U.S. 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 preexisting crisis caused by other U.S. sanctions and a failed internal financial reform that triggered inflation.
Between May and July, the U.S. State Department announced sanctions targeting the core of the island's tourism industry, with measures ranging from freezing accounts to being barred from operating in the U.S. financial system. As a result, major hotel chains such as Meliá, Iberostar, and Royalton, which had partnered with the island since the 1990s, suspended all their contracts in Cuba. Visa and Mastercard payment systems also ceased operations on the island. Major airlines like World2Fly, Air France, Turkish Airlines, and Iberia had already suspended flights after the government prohibited refueling of planes on the island.
Cuba received approximately 4.3 million tourists in 2019, and over the past 30 years, the tourism industry had become an economic engine. Authorities acknowledged that revenues reached $3 billion annually.