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The laundry facility in the city of Cárdenas, a state entity responsible for washing the clothing of hotels in Varadero, dries sheets hung on the perimeter fences of the building, without using industrial dryers, as shown in images shared on social media this Saturday.
The user Christian Arboláez posted the photographs in the group Cardenenses on Facebook with a question that sums up the feelings of many: "Is this how tourism is intended to be done?"
"When you think you've seen it all in Cuba, something always comes along that surpasses it," Arboláez wrote beneath the images, which show an industrial building in white and blue with white sheets hung along the perimeter fences of the establishment, exposed to the sun and the dust from the road.
The post generated dozens of reactions ranging from irony to indignation. One internet user joked, indicating that "they are eco-friendly hotels that utilize nature and natural drying," while Fani Valera was more direct: "Practicing eco drying. Getting worse every day."
But not all the comments were humorous. Yosandra Vega, who identified herself as an employee of the entity, confirmed the seriousness of the situation, "I am an employee of that entity, I am at a loss for words seeing those photos. Right now, the workers are on strike; I don't believe they are providing any service to the hotels," she emphasized.
User Mary Marcos raised concerns about the health risks associated with this practice. "The hotel sheets, the ones they put on the beds, contaminated with dirt from the roads and fields. It's so sad, with all the epidemics out there. I'm at a loss for words for what we’ve come to when there’s nothing else," she emphasized.
Eneida González pointed out the underlying contradiction. "Workers demonstrating 'creative resistance.' What a lack of respect for the tourist who pays a high price for lodging," she lamented.
Yunier Ledesma added that this practice is not new, because "for a long time now, many hotels have been drying things in the sun."
The scene takes place at the worst moment for Cuban tourism in decades. Cuba ended 2025 with only 1.8 million international tourists, the lowest figure since 2002, excluding the pandemic.
In the first two months of 2026, the island received only 262,496 visitors, about 112,642 fewer than during the same period of the previous year, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information.
Varadero, once the main sun and beach destination in the Caribbean, has seen an estimated 70% drop in visitors compared to its peak. The crisis worsened in 2026 after the disruption of Venezuelan crude oil supplies, which left the country's airports without fuel, causing over 1,700 flights to be canceled during the peak season and forced the temporary closure of hotels from chains like Meliá, Iberostar, NH, and Valentín.
Since the peak of 4.7 million visitors in 2018, Cuba has lost 61.7% of its tourism in seven years, a decline that the regime has not managed to reverse with any of its strategies, including the so-called "tourist compacting" implemented since February 7.
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