As the winter holiday season approaches, one of the most popular sunny destinations for Canadian travellers remains out of reach.
The United States’ oil blockade against Cuba triggered severe fuel shortages in the country and prompted Canadian airlines to indefinitely suspend flights to the island destination earlier this year.
Travel agents say Canadians looking to escape the cold weather this year will have to pay more than what they’re used to for affordable all-inclusive packages in Cuba.
Ashley Harold, a travel agent at Flight Centre Canada, said Mexico, Dominican Republic and several other Caribbean countries and territories such as Aruba, Barbados and Jamaica seem to be getting most of the diversions.
“There isn’t one new Cuba, if you will. Canadians, they’re really spreading their winter travel across a much wider mix of destinations and trip types,” she said in a recent interview.
“We’re also seeing some travellers consider Caribbean cruises or tours to still-warm places like Costa Rica or Peru.”
Domestic tourism is also gaining traction as some Canadians are choosing to visit “fantastic” winter destinations, from Alberta to the West Coast, she said.
“Folks, now more than ever, are wanting to explore their own backyard and keep their dollar within Canada,” she said.
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Even though advance bookings have become a new normal after COVID-19, the lack of Cuban vacations has led Canadians to make reservations in other destinations much earlier for best pricing and choice, Harold said.
Cuba welcomed more than a million Canadians annually before the pandemic but that number has been steadily declining in recent years, with visits dropping to around 700,000 in 2025, according to Statistics Canada. The agency recorded 127,000 Canadian visits to Cuba in the first quarter of this year.
Those numbers dropped significantly after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the oil blockade on Cuba early this year, and the Canadian government subsequently issued a travel advisory due to the shortage of medicine, food and fuel in the country. It still advises Canadians to avoid all non-essential travel to Cuba.
After airlines suspended flights and major hotel chains pulled out of Cuba, the country’s tourism industry and the local economy that heavily depended on it were further devastated. The country of around 11 million people is facing a humanitarian crisis caused by the latest sanctions and the decades-long U.S. trade embargo.
Cuba’s tourism market was dominated by Canadians who relished its affordable winter vacation options. Now, they need to spend hundreds of dollars more to explore other destinations or cut down the number of trips they are making each year, travel agents say.
John Wood, president of Durham Travel east of Toronto, said Cuba visitors are “value conscious” and want to travel as often as they can within their budgets.
Some of Durham Travel’s clients used to go to Cuba “three, four or five times a year … because they could go for a very reasonable price, get away and enjoy the sun and beautiful beaches,” he said in a recent interview.
“And now they can’t do that anymore.”
Wood said his travel agency’s sales to Cuba dropped from more than $389,000 last year to just $24,000 so far into 2026.
Meanwhile, travel sales for the Dominican Republic increased from about $1 million in 2025 to nearly 1.3 million so far this year, he said.
“The Dominican Republic appears to have absorbed most of the difference from Cuba,” he said, noting travellers’ concerns about crime and large seaweed blooms in Mexico.
At Flight Centre Canada, however, Mexico remains the top destination — even if it’s pricier, Harold said.
A seven-day package at a four-star resort in Varadero, Cuba with a flight from Toronto cost under $1,400 per person around the last holiday season, she said. Comparable trips to Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica cost around $1,800 this year, according to Flight Centre data.
“So, for travellers that are used to Cuba pricing, there may need to be a reset in expectations before they start shopping,” Harold said.
But that means tourists can “get creative” with their vacation plans this holiday season, she said.
“I think this is a great opportunity for Canadians to branch out a little bit more with their travels and experience something new.”
© 2026 The Canadian Press
