havana, cuba
The Spanish hotel chain Meliá said on July 20 it will completely shutter its operations in Cuba, dealing a blow to the tourism industry on the Caribbean island grappling with strict sanctions and an energy blockade imposed by the United States.
A statement from the company said the decision, which will go into effect tomorrow, was due to “the significant operational, legal, economic and financial difficulties that have persistently affected, and continue to affect, the environment” in Cuba.
Cuba’s tourism industry was formerly an engine of the country’s economy. Meliá’s decision follows new sanctions announced by the U.S. on July 13 blacklisting Cuba’s Tourism Ministry, the business partner of more than a dozen hotels that the hotel chain still operated on the island.
The chain had previously suspended management of 15 hotels it operated through an agreement with a tourism agency run by GAESA, a Cuban military-business conglomerate that was sanctioned by the U.S. in May. The company has now completely withdrawn its business from Cuba.
Meliá once owned 34 five-star hotels in Cuba, primarily in Havana. It was also a highly symbolic chain for the island, following the opening of tourism in the Caribbean nation after the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 35 years ago.
U.S. measures against companies operating in Cuba include freezing their assets and seizing their accounts in the U.S., meaning they can no longer operate in the U.S. financial market, and also travel bans for their shareholders, investors and employees.
