*Canadian holiday provider Sunwing Vacations Group, which includes Sunwing Vacations, WestJet Vacations, and WestJet Vacations Québec, has announced that it is indefinitely suspending all Cuba operations “
until further notice” following a review of its Cuba programme and “
the current operating environment”. The group had announced back in April that it was cancelling all operations in Cuba from 20 June until 9 October. The announcement is the latest blow to Cuba’s decimated tourism industry as the US administration led by President
Donald Trump continues to apply
massive pressure to the island through a fuel blockade and
new sanctions imposed on 1 May targeting foreign companies that partner with the Cuban government, among other measures. Sunwing Vacations Group is a subsidiary of WestJet Group
which announced in February, along with other airlines, including flagship operator Air Canada, that it was halting all flights to Cuba. Meanwhile, in an interview with Spanish digital news outlet
elDiario.es, published on 5 June, Cuba’s President
Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the government was open to offering the management of Cuba’s hotels to Cubans at home and abroad. This follows the announcement
last week by Spanish hotel chain Meliá, the largest in the country, that it was closing down operations in Cuba. The 1 May sanctions set out a “
wind down” period lasting until 5 June for any foreign companies who conduct transactions with Grupo de Administración Empresarial SA (Gaesa), the opaque state-owned military conglomerate, which controls much of the country’s economy and which
was blacklisted on 7 May.
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