Spanish hotel chain Meliá leaving Cuba due to sanctions
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.
