The Island of bad luck: the oil crisis in Cuba is hitting tourism
Russian tourists continue to rest in Cuba, despite the US fuel blockade. As Izvestia found out, domestic airlines can fly with technical refueling in Venezuela. But on the island, vacationers are already facing problems: due to power outages, they are being relocated to other hotels. Cubans are having a much worse time: interruptions affect water supply and communications, huge queues form at gas stations. What kind of compensation is due to tourists and whether the authorities of the republic can make a deal with the United States in order to stabilize the situation — in the Izvestia article.
How the crisis in Cuba affects tourism
The oil crisis in Cuba is getting worse. According to the authorities, the country is running out of fuel for airplanes. According to the notification from Havana International Airport, from February 10 to March 11, it will not be available in nine air harbors. International companies are already canceling flights. For example, Air Canada said it was taking off 16 flights a week. Empty planes are planned to be sent to the island to bring back Canadians, who, according to the latest data, make up the majority of travelers.
View of the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana
Russian tourists continue to fly to Cuba, despite the crisis situation. In particular, Rossiya Airlines (part of the Aeroflot Group) will continue to operate flights to and from Havana and Varadero airports. Nordwind flights are also saved, for example, on February 12.
Planes from Russia can fly to Cuba, as it is possible to refuel in another country, Artur Muradian, vice president of the Association of Russian Tour Operators for outbound Tourism, told Izvestia.
"Technical refueling is possible in Venezuela, such an option is provided," he said. — In this regard, the duration of flights may be extended.
The Cuban air navigation company said it would negotiate refueling with other countries. In turn, foreign companies operating flights from Cuba now also carry out intermediate refueling, the ATOR Vice President added. There is no talk of evacuation yet, as it is not necessary.
Tourism is one of the main sectors of the Cuban economy, which, under the conditions of the American blockade, was considered as a sustainable source of income. For example, in 2025, 131.9 thousand Russians visited the country for recreation, and a total of 1.8 million people came there.
Russians are being evicted from hotels
However, vacationers still have problems. Against the background of the crisis, long power outages occur daily across the country. Because of this, Russian vacationers have now begun to be relocated to other hotels, although this happens for free and usually to better hotels or at least the same category. Five hotels have already been closed in Cuba.
For example, the Resonance Blue Santa Lucia Hotel was first resettled and then reopened. As Olga Shilkina told Izvestia, all the tourists who originally planned to live in this hotel were returned. No one gave them a reason. According to the hotel employee, the instructions came from the authorities. Tourist Elena Vinichenko said that she was moved from the Tuxpan Hotel (Varadero) to Starfish.
— It took us a long time to choose the first hotel based on reviews. Upon arrival, it turned out that very few people lived in it. There were 8-10 of us. Food problems started immediately — the restaurants were all closed, we were fed in the lobby," says the traveler.
According to her, on the second day of rest, tourists began to be relocated to another hotel. The decision was explained by repair work, but Vinichenko is sure that it's all about problems with electricity. The family was offered a room for 50 thousand rubles more expensive, but they did not require additional money.
If tourists are relocated from paid luxury hotels to cheaper ones without compensation, this is the provision of services of inadequate quality, draws the attention of Boris Feldman, Director of Legal Affairs at DestraLegal.
"The energy crisis or other internal problems of the country do not exempt the hotel or tour operator from the obligation to provide paid conditions or compensate for their deterioration," he explained to Izvestia.
According to the expert, if the ticket is purchased from a Russian tour operator, it is he who must answer. A vacationer should not deal with a Cuban hotel or take on the consequences of the country's internal problems. In such a situation, it is important to immediately record the fact of relocation on a photo or video, save a written notification from the hotel, if available, and contact a representative of the tour operator with a request to compensate for the difference in the cost of accommodation and losses, Feldman added.
Power outage in Cuba
— The loss in this case is the unlived time at the hotel that was originally booked. Changing the criteria for services is possible only by prior written agreement with the consumer," explained Eduard Shalonosov, a lawyer in the field of tourism.
According to him, the tour operator may offer to upgrade the flight or transfer class to compensate for the difference in the cost of hotels. If a tourist booked accommodation directly and was moved to a lower-category hotel without consent, formal complaints to the authorities may help, but this is not a guarantee of a refund, Boris Feldman noted.
Causes of the Cuban oil crisis
Experts note that the Cuban authorities are redirecting all resources to tourism, and therefore the situation could be much worse for the citizens of the republic. The UN has warned of a possible humanitarian collapse amid depletion of oil reserves. The General Assembly has been calling for the lifting of the trade embargo imposed by Washington for more than three decades, as almost all key industries in the country are tied to oil.
Lack of fuel affects transport and leads to the formation of long queues at gas stations. And power outages worsen water supply, lighting, and communications. Although hospitals use generators, they may not be able to keep up. In early February, Cuban authorities urged citizens to take precautions by saving water, food, and mobile phone battery power.
Another crisis in the country erupted after the US invasion of Venezuela in January 2026. Oil supplies from Caracas, which provided about half of Cuba's needs, have completely stopped. Donald Trump has threatened to impose duties on countries that export these products to the island. Against this background, Mexico temporarily stopped supplying fuel. President Claudia Sheinbaum has openly stated that she wants to avoid negative consequences for the country.
Having lost the support of a number of partners, Cuba nevertheless "will not bend" under the United States, as it has been under sanctions pressure for 64 years, and the country experienced the most difficult times in the 1990s, Egor Lidovskaya, Director General of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Cultural Center, draws attention. At the same time, Havana does not deny the possibility of dialogue and trade with Washington.
"Cuba's only condition for communicating with the United States was respect for its sovereignty and respect for the choice made by its people during the Cuban revolution," the expert emphasized.
The reason for the tightening of the screws by the United States is Marco Rubio, who is waging a personal war with Havana, the expert believes. The US Secretary of State, a Cuban by birth, claimed that his parents allegedly fled the regime of Fidel Castro, but this is a lie, Lidovsky stressed. In fact, they were fleeing the regime of Fulgencio Batista, whom they overthrew during the revolution. Moreover, Rubio's father openly sympathized with the ideas of socialism. But the Cuban immigrants hated Castro, and the family had to somehow survive in this society. Rubio has lived for years in an atmosphere of hatred for socialist Cuba. And now he insists on interfering in the affairs of Latin American countries, extrapolating his personal history to the entire region, the expert believes.
According to him, this is why Rubio is promoting a military scenario with Cuba, while Trump could still make concessions, for example, force the island to trade only with the United States instead of the BRICS countries. The head of the White House has repeatedly pointed out the alleged threat to the US economy from the members of the association due to the promotion of de-dollarization.
The coming months will be crucial for Cuba. If the United States decides to focus on Tehran first, then Havana will come in second place. But if there is no escalation around Iran, Cuba will become the number one target for the United States, American scholar Malek Dudakov tells Izvestia. The most likely scenario is a slow economic "strangulation" of Cuba in the hope of either arranging a regime change or bringing to power someone more capable of negotiating from the current politicians, Dudakov added.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
