LatinNews Daily - 22 July 2026

*Having announced last month that it was closing down 15 of its 34 hotels in Cuba, Spanish hotel chain Meliá has confirmed its departure from the island. Yesterday (21 July) it confirmed that it had decided to terminate “the provision of its hotel management and marketing services in relation to all of its establishments” in Cuba, effective 24 July. It attributed this decision to the “significant operational, legal, economic, and financial difficulties that have persistently affected – and continue to affect – the environment in [Cuba], making it impossible, both in practice and in law, to maintain a minimum level of operational stability in its activities.” Meliá’s announcement is the latest blow to Cuba’s crucial tourism sector, which is in freefall due to the US oil blockade which has left the island without fuel oil and diesel, leading countries including Canada and Russia, key sources of tourism, to suspend flights, as well as sanctions which now target foreign firms that partner with the Cuban government, as well as, most recently, the tourism ministry.

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