Nearly three-quarters of Cuba's hotels have been shuttered and the island's tourism sector has been brought to 'almost total paralysis' by US sanctions and fuel shortages, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said Wednesday. Detailing the scale of the tourism crisis for the first time, Marrero said seven international chains, responsible for about half of all hotel rooms, had left the island.
Crisis Deepens
Tourism had been Cuba's second-largest source of foreign currency earnings, employing more than 300,000 people before the crisis deepened this year. Today, Old Havana's streets, once clogged with tourists seeking sun, salsa and stirred cocktails, are quiet. Some 73 percent of hotels have been closed, Marrero said, and about 25,000 workers have been left 'in a vulnerable situation'.
Impact of Sanctions and Fuel Shortages
Following Havana's announcement in February of an aviation fuel shortage, Canadian, Russian and European airlines suspended flights to the island. The sector's troubles accelerated after Washington imposed sanctions in May on the military-run conglomerate GAESA, prompting several international operators to end hotel management agreements to avoid US penalties. Although Spanish groups Melia and Iberostar continued operating hotels in partnership with Cuba's Tourism Ministry, Washington widened its sanctions in July.
Devastating Effects
Official figures show tourist arrivals dropped 58 percent between January and June compared with the same period a year earlier. The closure of hotels and the departure of international chains have left many Cubans in the tourism sector without jobs. The crisis has also severely impacted Cuba's economy, which relied heavily on tourism revenues.
