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The tour operator Travelplan, part of the Ávoris Group and operating in Portugal and Spain, has suspended all its tourism operations to Cuba amid growing logistical issues on the Island, especially related to fuel supply.
The decision was announced by Constantino Pinto, commercial director of the tourist operation at Grupo Ávoris in Portugal, in an interview granted to the specialized portal Turisver.
In it, the executive confirmed that the company "canceled all operations" planned for the Cuban destinations of Varadero and Cayo Santa María, although he clarified that this is a suspension with the expectation of being able to resume the schedule when the situation improves.
“We canceled it. In fact, we suspended it because we always hoped to resume it when everything returns to normal,” Pinto stated.
Serious supply problems
According to the executive, the measure is in response to "some serious supply issues, primarily with fuel," a factor that, although not yet visibly apparent on the ground, could seriously impact the operation of flights and associated services.
“Each of our arriving airplanes requires at least ten buses for transportation, and if there is a fuel shortage, we would run the risk of encountering problems at any moment,” he detailed.
In light of that scenario, he emphasized that the company chose to prioritize safety and service reliability: "We cannot subject our customers to unnecessary risks."
Initially, Travelplan canceled the first three scheduled departures to Cayo Santa María, but later decided to extend the measure to its entire operation in Cuba, including that destination as well as Varadero.
Moreover, Pinto acknowledged that there is a shortage of fuel for the aircraft themselves, which would require “a triangulation maneuver on the return trip”; a solution he described as complicated, although he assured that the company would be willing to undertake it “if everything else were guaranteed.”
Flight redirects to the Caribbean
As an alternative, the company has decided to redirect the flights originally scheduled to Cuba to other destinations in the Caribbean.
The Tuesday flight to Cayo Santa María will operate to Cancún starting in June, while the Saturday flight to Varadero will be moved to Punta Cana at the end of May.
The first operation to begin under this new scheme will be in Cancún on Sunday, March 22, followed by Punta Cana on Monday, March 23.
The goal, as Pinto explained, is to provide options for passengers who already had reservations in Cuba.
"We are not protecting the passengers because we canceled well in advance and for a perfectly justifiable reason, but we will give them the opportunity to book other destinations," he stated.
Customers will be able to choose not only from the usual Travelplan destinations in the Caribbean, but also from other expanded options, including special operations by Nortravel to Cape Verde, Malta, and Albania.
Discounts and changes without penalties
The company has announced that it will allow the initial reservation to be canceled at no cost and will apply a 5% discount on the list price for the new contract.
“We offer you a 5% discount off the list price, provided you cancel one reservation and make another. The first reservation is free, as is logical, and the second one receives the discount,” explained the executive.
For those who had planned to travel around Easter—when the operation to Cayo Santa María was set to begin—the company expanded the range of available options to facilitate changes in destination or dates, even allowing travelers to shift their trip to summer departures with the corresponding discount.
Sales stagnated and cancellations on the rise
The decision comes amid growing concern in the sector. Some travel agency networks were already urging caution when selling packages to Cuba, due to operational uncertainty.
"Yes, there was concern, and it is legitimate," Pinto acknowledged.
Although he assured that the hotel industry in Cuba "is still functioning" and that clients were being concentrated in certain hotels in Varadero and Cayo Santa María to optimize resources, he admitted that the fuel rationing is severe.
The executive went further by describing the commercial impact of the crisis.
"During the last week, there has been an almost complete halt in sales to Cuba; they stopped being sales and became no sales, as many cancellations also started occurring."
He also explained that the company was facing two traditionally strong marketing periods—the Mundo Abreu event and the BTL fair—and that they could not "create false expectations" in a context of increasing uncertainty.
The suspension of Travelplan represents another setback for the Cuban tourism sector, which is facing challenges marked by energy issues, logistical constraints, and a continued decline in international demand.
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