As Cuba fuel crisis deepens, Canadians on the ground remain in vacation mode

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The move is an attempt to keep as many hotels open as possible during the tourism high season and maximize revenues that are critical to the country’s struggling economy.

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Suzanne Dion from Ottawa visited a resort in Cayo Santa Maria in the first week of February, said the situation for travellers was fine.

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“Everything is great at the resorts, no shortage at all,” she said. But she noted the situation for Cubans in poorer villages was deteriorating.

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“They need more Canadians to go over. That’s what they depend on, us Canadians,” she said, before learning of the Air Canada cancellations. She encouraged visitors to bring extra essentials like toiletries and over-the-counter medications to donate to locals.

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Ryan Raye from St. Andrews, N.B., who has been in a house he owns in Playa, Havana since just after the new year, said that when his family leaves Cuba in a few weeks, they might not return “until the situation changes.”

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He said the food and supply situation where they live is “very plentiful” and they can get almost everything they need with a quick cruise around the area.

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However, the amount of traffic in the past few days has been greatly reduced, he said, adding that troops have been deployed at gas stations because citizens have been fighting at the gas pumps.

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Julie Smigadis, owner of Ontario-based Travel Our World, an Envoy Canada-affiliated agency, said most clients booked to travel to Cuba in the coming weeks have not cancelled outright. Instead, she said, travellers are seeking more clarity and flexibility in case things deteriorate further.

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“They’re not coming from a place of fear,” Smigadis said. “It’s more about understanding what’s going on and what their options are if things change…. It’s more of a ‘worst-case scenario, what are my options’ conversation.”

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From the supply side, Smigadis said feedback from tour operators and resort partners suggests that, for now, most properties continue to operate largely as normal.

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“From what we’re being told, a lot of the resorts we work with are operating as business as usual,” she said, adding that conditions vary by property and can shift quickly. She described the situation as one that requires close, day-to-day monitoring.

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Several other Canadian airlines have made adjustments in light of the fuel crisis in Cuba. WestJet said all of its aircraft landing in the country already have enough fuel to depart, but both it and Sunwing are allowing customers to change their flights without penalty.

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“Our focus continues to remain on the safety of our guests and our WestJetters,” the company said in a statement.

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Air Transat, meanwhile, said it plans to operate as scheduled, including the possibility of making a technical stop along the route if necessary. It is also giving customers with trips booked up to Feb. 28 the ability to change their date or destination without penalty or receive a full refund.

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Smigadis said Cuba’s tourism sector has faced persistent challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, including staffing shortages and limited access to resources — constraints that have been exacerbated by recent fuel shortages. She said expectations for travellers need to be managed carefully, particularly when compared with destinations that have more robust supply chains.

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“It’s a very different expectation compared with places like Mexico,” she said, pointing to structural limits on resources and external support.