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Leaving Cuba takes 79.8 million euros off Meliá's accounts

The Spanish hotel group closed the first nine months of 2026 with a net profit of 93.5 million euros, 47.4% less than a year earlier, and still classifies its 34 hotels on the island as a "discontinued operation", according to its third quarter report.

Meliá Hotels International said on Tuesday, November 3, as it released its third quarter results, that the end of its operations in Cuba "continues to be classified as a discontinued operation". The exit, which took place between June and July, has had an impact of 79.8 million euros.

Net profit for the first nine months stood at 93.5 million euros, 47.4% less than the 177.7 million of the same period a year earlier. The company also puts profit after that exit at 67.1 million, a drop of 55.5%.

The 34 properties Meliá managed in Cuba add up to 14,053 rooms and were owned by GAESA, the business conglomerate of the Cuban military. US sanctions on foreign companies tied to GAESA paralyzed the tourism business on the island, which was also left by Canada's Blue Diamond Resorts and Spain's Iberostar and Barceló.

Official figures from the National Office of Statistics and Information show that between January and September 477,707 travelers visited Cuba, 34.9% of the same period in 2025 and 890,140 fewer international visitors.

The hotel group maintains that "the underlying business continues to post solid growth, driven by Spain". In the third quarter it had revenue of 89.4 million euros, 0.2% more than a year earlier.

Sources: Diario de Cuba · Cubanet

Data updated: 2026-11-04T04:15:00.000Z

Leaving Cuba takes 79.8 million euros off Meliá's accounts | Yamacoa Observatory