Cuba Tourism Arrivals Drop 56 Percent Amid Power Crisis
Cuba tourist arrivals fell 56 percent in February amid 22-hour power cuts and fuel shortages. Many hotels and local attractions have been forced to close.
The sun sets over Pálpite, a village bordering the famous Zapata Swamp in Cuba, but the usual influx of eco-tourists is nowhere to be found. Instead of visitors arriving to see the region's famous red land crabs, the streets are filled with local residents searching for cellular service as the power grid flickers back to life. A restrictive energy blockade led by the United States has left much of the island in darkness, crippling a tourism industry that was once a vital economic lifeline.
Manuela Arencibia Báez, who operates a rental property in the nearby beachfront town of Playa Larga, describes a dire situation where reservations are constantly being cancelled.
