Cuba Closes Resorts as Fuel Shortages Hit Tourism

Cuba has begun closing major tourist resorts as fuel shortages triggered by renewed US pressure disrupt the island’s vital tourism sector, officials and industry sources said.

Efforts by US President Donald Trump to halt fuel shipments to Cuba are now affecting key tourism operations. According to Bloomberg, at least two large beachfront resorts in Cayo Coco, off Cuba’s northern coast, are set to close from the end of this week due to a lack of gasoline.

An employee at the Mojito Cayo Coco resort said the hotel would shut because there is not enough fuel to transport staff to work. Around 200 guests will instead be transferred to Sol Cayo Coco, located about 30 miles away.

The worker, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, blamed Trump-era sanctions and said many colleagues are losing their jobs.

He added that in more than two decades working at the hotel, he had only seen temporary closures caused by hurricanes, never shutdowns unrelated to weather.

The Cuban government said on Friday that it is implementing a plan to improve efficiency and consolidate facilities in the tourism sector as part of broader emergency measures to confront threats to fuel supplies.

Authorities said keeping some hotels operating would help maximize revenue during the peak tourist season.

Canadian travel companies WestJet Airlines and Sunwing Vacations, which send hundreds of thousands of Canadian tourists to Cuba each year, said they are closely monitoring developments and will continue to follow guidance from the Canadian government.

Air Transat said Cuban authorities had unilaterally decided to regroup some travelers in hotels with higher occupancy rates to ensure continuity and service quality, adding that these hotels remain operational and continue to meet expected standards.

Earlier this week, Canada updated its travel advisory for Cuba to exercise a high degree of caution, citing the energy crisis and shortages of basic goods.

In early January, Washington effectively cut off fuel shipments to Cuba from its main ally Venezuela. Since then, Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on countries exporting oil to the island.

The government in Havana responded by reducing public transport services, limiting the work week to Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and shifting some university lectures to remote learning.

Officials said in a nationally televised address that the measures are aimed at preserving essential services such as food production, water supply and healthcare. Cuba is also seeking to accelerate plans to expand the use of solar energy.

Cuba’s electricity workers’ union previously said national power generation would cover less than half of peak demand, estimated at 3,100 megawatts, on Friday evening.

Tourism remains one of Cuba’s most important sources of foreign currency, making the sector a top government priority. However, prolonged power cuts, food shortages and broader economic difficulties are increasingly undermining its recovery.

Tourist arrivals fell by 18 percent last year compared with 2024, reaching their lowest level in at least two decades outside the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of foreign visitors is also down 62 percent from the record high of 4.7 million recorded in 2018.