Should you stay or should you go? Canadians are reconsidering travel plans for Cuba after being advised
Ask travelers who go on year after year, and they’ll probably tell you the same thing: there’s something about Cuba.
Glorious beaches. A sense of security. Warming – not just the weather, but the people.
“He’s in love,” said Monique Belliveau, 53, of Winnipeg. “It’s not a rich country by any means, but you love each other.”
Belliveau estimates he has been to the Caribbean island about 80 times in the past 20 years. First, as a repeat visitor to Varadero with his family. Then, a solo trip after his divorce. Now, she returns to Cuba four or five times each year with her Cuban husband and their son.
They have a house in Holguín, near her husband’s family. On their most recent visit in January, they all stayed at a resort in Guardalavaca for four weeks.
“There were no shortages, there were no power outages, there were no problems,” Belliveau told CBC News in Winnipeg.
“This travel advisory … all Canada is doing is scaring everyone.”
The federal government raised its level of travel advisories for Cuba on Tuesday, warning Canadians that shortages of electricity, fuel and basic necessities including food, water and medicine could also disrupt resorts.
“Be very careful in Cuba,” the advisory said.
Cuba has been hit by widespread blackouts on a daily basis, blamed on fuel shortages and crumbling infrastructure. The blackout has exacerbated an economic crisis that has already worsened due to the decline in tourism, the tightening of US sanctions and the failure of internal fiscal reforms to consolidate the currency, according to the Associated Press.
Since the federal government’s new warning, CBC News has heard from many travelers who say they have canceled their trips, are trying to cancel without success or are still traveling with the understanding that this year’s trip could be a challenge.
But others, like Belliveau, think the advice is “nonsense” and will further hurt Cubans by hurting their struggling tourism industry. Overall, the number of tourists to Cuba has dropped by nearly 70 percent since 2018, according to the Associated Press.
“Cancelling your trip to Cuba right now is the worst thing you can do because they need us more than ever,” said Belleau.
Ottawa is warning Canadians traveling to Cuba to ‘be careful’ starting Wednesday. The federal government says the Caribbean country is facing worsening shortages of food, medicine, electricity and fuel and that resorts may be affected.
Few Canadians visit Cuba
For decades, tourism generated up to $3 billion US a year in Cuba. And Canadians have historically been the most frequent visitors to the country. But data shows this is changing.
In 2019, Cuba was the second most popular overseas destination for Canadian travelers from January to March (also known as Q1, or Canada’s mostly dark winter).
During that time, Canadians visited Cuba 410,000 times, just ahead of the Dominican Republic, but behind Mexico, according to Statistics Canada.
The pandemic put an end to travel, but in 2024, Canadian visits to Cuba in Q1 went up and up. Then in 2025, Q1 Canadian visits to Cuba dropped by 38 percent, the fourth most popular overseas destination for Canadian travelers from January to March, according to Statistics Canada.
For now, it’s new travel data from Cuba’s national statistics agency released on Monday shows a 12 percent drop in Canadian tourists – the country’s most popular tourist – throughout 2025 compared to the previous year.
Katherine Hill, 40, of Bowmanville, Ont., was supposed to go to Cayo Santa Maria with her children as part of a large family Friday morning. But amid the fuel crisis, Canada’s travel advisory and political tensions, he canceled his trip.
“Personally, I won’t be able to enjoy a vacation knowing that Cuba is on the brink of dehumanization,” said Hill.
The resort they booked was having trouble feeding its guests, he said, noting that its buffet was closed and people were being bussed to other places to eat. When reading recent reviews online, Hill noticed that people said the transportation was unreliable. CBC reviewed online comments about the resort and found similar complaints.
“Guests were advised to bring kettles, instant noodles and bottled water. It started to feel like you’re preparing for a vacation and it’s like preparing for a survival challenge,” Hill said.
“We were buying transport items like kettles and rice cookers, as well as buying groceries. Then we thought, ‘what do we do?’
‘We are shocked’
US President Donald Trump has done it threatening to impose tariffs to any country that sells or supplies oil to Cuba.
on Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel he described the situation there as “strange” as he called the American situation “aggressive and criminal,” saying it affects things like transportation, hospitals, schools, tourism and food production.
But, according to tCuba Tourist Board in Toronto, all resort activities are operating “normally and securely for the 2025/2026 winter season.”
Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism “has taken drastic measures throughout the fall to ensure a smooth winter,” the board said in a statement Tuesday. Supplies of fuel, food and essential goods had been secured in advance, they said.
Still, it would be one thing to go there voluntarily if you are young and healthy. But if you’re older, or have health problems, the idea is really scary, he said Zelia Saliu, 60, booked from Toronto to Cayo Coco on Feb. 24.
He and a friend booked their week-long trip through Sunwing Vacations in January, according to a program seen by CBC News. After the The federal government updated its travel advisory for Cuba on Tuesday, which Saliu says he tried to cancel.
But he says Sunwing refuses to give them travel credit or a safe alternative, assuring him that the destination and the holiday are “fine,” Saliu said.
Cuba’s electricity system suffered a partial blackout on Wednesday, leaving the capital Havana and much of western Cuba in total blackout. During the power crisis, many parts of the country were experiencing daily power outages lasting 20 hours or more. ‘The electricity situation is difficult, it’s bad right now,’ said another resident.
In an email to CBC News, a Sunwing spokesperson said they are following their normal changes and cancel policies at this time. “[We are] We are closely monitoring the situation in Cuba and will continue to follow the direction of the Canadian government.”
Those who purchase the “Worry Free” plan from Sunwing can cancel or make changes up to three hours before departure. Saliu did not, and his options with less than 20 days before his departure are to lose 100 percent of the cost, or continue his trip.
“We are afraid to travel under these conditions,” said Saliu.
But Belliveau, of Winnipeg, says he hopes people will keep their vacation plans. Canadians can pack things to make their trip easier, he said, and that’s true of any country you visit in the Caribbean.
In fact, Belliveau goes way back in March. This time, to Varadero.
“There is no safer place than Cuba,” he said.
