Cuba Opens 14,000 Hotel Rooms to Domestic and Expat Investors as Sanctions Drive Chains Out
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 6
Cuba Opens 14,000 Hotel Rooms to Domestic and Expat Investors as Sanctions Drive Chains Out
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 6
Summary
President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuba will let Cubans on the island and abroad invest in and manage hotels as foreign operators retreat from the tourism sector.
Meliá said on May 26 it will stop operating 15 of its 34 Cuban hotels after new U.S. sanctions hit partners tied to military-run conglomerate GAESA, which works with the Spanish chain through Gaviota.
Royalton and Iberostar have also limited or suspended operations, adding pressure on a sector already weakened by blackouts, shortages and the broader economic crisis Havana blames on the U.S. embargo.
Tourism has yet to recover from its 2019 peak of 4.3 million visitors: Cuba logged 298,000 arrivals in January-March, down 48% from 573,300 a year earlier.
Díaz-Canel cast Washington's tougher measures as an attempt to destabilize Cuba, saying rising U.S.-Cuba tensions are reshaping how the island seeks capital and runs key industries.
Is Cuba's invitation to its diaspora a golden opportunity or a desperate trap to bypass crippling U.S. sanctions?
Is Cuba's economic pivot a sign U.S. pressure is working or a prelude to a larger humanitarian crisis?
2026 Cuba Tourism Collapse: U.S. Sanctions Drive 55% Visitor Decline and Major Hotel Chain Withdrawals, Forcing Policy Overhaul
Overview
In June 2026, facing a deepening crisis in its tourism sector, the Cuban government opened hotel management to domestic and expatriate Cuban investors. This urgent move was triggered by a dramatic drop in international visitors—tourist arrivals fell by nearly half in early 2026 compared to the previous year—and the rapid withdrawal of major foreign hotel operators due to escalating U.S. sanctions. With Canada, Cuba’s top tourist source, also sending fewer visitors, the government hopes that empowering local and diaspora investors will help stabilize the industry and keep hotels running despite ongoing economic and operational challenges.