Cuban Tourism Under “Force Majeure”
The 41st Cuban International Tourism Fair (FITCUBA2026) is being held virtually this week, a decision driven by the island’s acute fuel crisis and the impact of the ongoing U.S. oil blockade.
Once a primary engine of the Cuban economy, the tourism sector saw arrivals plummet by nearly 50% in the first quarter of 2026 as travelers increasingly avoided an island grappling with the U.S.-induced power outages. While Cuba welcomed 4.8 million visitors in 2018, the hardening of U.S. policy under the “maximum pressure” campaign saw that number fall to just 1.8 million last year.
On May 10, Cubana de Aviación, Cuba’s state-run airline, announced the immediate suspension of all flights between Spain and Cuba. The airline cited “force majeure” risks linked to Trump’s May 1 executive order, which grants Secretary of State Marco Rubio sweeping authority to sanction third party entities operating in virtually any sector of the Cuban economy.
This pressure has also affected international operators such as Meliá Hotels International. The Spain-based group, which manages more than 14,000 hotel rooms in Cuba, has cut its operations by around 50 percent, finding in its quarterly investor report that Q1 performance “has been significantly compromised as a consequence of the United States' intervention in the region at the beginning of the year.” Meliá Hotels attributed their downturn to the “energy blockade” and “cancellations by airlines” due to an inability to refuel in Cuba.
While U.S. citizens remain legally barred from visiting the island for tourism, Washington has been using Cuba’s designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism” to discourage European travelers. This baseless listing stripscitizens from 42 countries, including major tourism markets like Spain and Germany, of their U.S. visa waiver privileges. Consequently, a vacation in Havana may require European travelers to undergo a lengthy and uncertain in-person visa process at a U.S. embassy if they seek to travel to the United States in the future.
Watch our video on how U.S. law punishes European tourists for visiting Cuba.