Cuba opens hotel sector to Cuban investors as foreign chains pull out

Cuba's government is opening its hotel sector to Cuban investors and managers—both on the island and abroad—after major international chains withdrew following new U.S. sanctions.

Spanish chain Meliá announced May 26 it would cease operations at fifteen of its thirty-four hotels in Cuba, dealing a blow to the tourism sector that has already plummeted since its 2018 peak. Canadian-owned Royalton and Spain's Iberostar followed with similar moves to limit or suspend operations. The decisions came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding sanctions, targeting Grupo de Administración Empresarial (GAESA), a military-linked conglomerate that manages hotels through its Gaviota subsidiary.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced the new policy in an interview broadcast Friday on the official presidential channel. "There will be hotels that we will have to operate more with Cuban management than with shared management with foreign entities," Díaz-Canel said. "We are proposing different business models. We are open to Cubans who want to invest and manage hotels. We have also offered these business opportunities to Cubans residing abroad."

The tourism collapse has been severe. Cuba attracted 4.3 million visitors in 2019; in the first quarter of 2026, only 298,000 arrived—48 percent fewer than the same period last year. The government has blamed the U.S. energy embargo for deepening an economic crisis marked by prolonged blackouts, water shortages, and supply disruptions.

Meliá operated some 14,000 hotel rooms in Cuba before the partial withdrawal, making it one of the island's most important tourism partners. The shift to Cuban-led management signals the government's attempt to salvage the sector without foreign corporate partnerships.