Cuba Is Off the Table: Where Canadians Are Booking Winter Sun Instead (2026–27)

For decades, Cuba was Canada's default winter escape, the cheap Varadero all-inclusive that undercut every other Caribbean package and kept the whole market honest on price. That's over. In June 2026, Air Canada, WestJet (including the entire Sunwing Vacations Group) and Air Transat all suspended Cuba operations indefinitely, and the island that once drew more than a million Canadians a year is effectively closed to Canadian sun-seekers. Here's why it happened, where the million displaced travellers are going instead, and what it means for your winter 2026–27 booking.

Key takeaways

• Air Canada, WestJet/Sunwing Vacations Group and Air Transat suspended all Cuba flying indefinitely in June 2026, driven by a US oil embargo, jet fuel shortages, blackouts, hotel-company exits, and a US Treasury sanctions deadline on Cuba's military-run tourism conglomerate GAESA.
• In a normal year, 1M+ Canadians visited Cuba; in March 2026 just 511 did, down from 98,663 the year before.
• Airlines are redeploying capacity: Sunwing added Toronto–Acapulco, Winnipeg–Puerto Plata and Montreal–Cozumel; Air Canada Vacations added Mazatlán, Mérida, Roatán and Santo Domingo for winter 2026–27.
• Winter travel demand is surging anyway: Allianz's October 2026 study found 46% of Canadians confident they'll take a winter vacation, up 11 points year over year, with Mexico and the Caribbean the top destination choice at 30%.
• Displaced Cuba demand is tightening rooms and seats across the Caribbean, pushing prices up, book earlier than you used to.

Why Cuba is off the table

This wasn't one airline's decision, it was the whole Canadian industry walking away within days of each other, and the causes stacked up fast:

• Fuel: A US oil embargo that began in January 2026 choked fuel supplies. Cuban authorities warned of aviation-fuel shortages, and airlines were dispatching aircraft with enough fuel to leave without refuelling locally.
• Blackouts and shortages: Chronic power outages and shortages of food, water and medicine triggered a standing Canadian government travel advisory for the island.
• Sanctions deadline: Washington set a deadline for foreign companies to sever ties with GAESA, the Cuban military conglomerate controlling much of the island's tourism and finances, under threat of US Treasury sanctions. Major hotel operators, Blue Diamond Resorts, Iberostar, Archipelago International and Meliá, exited in the days before the airlines followed.
• The industry call: Air Canada cited "ongoing conditions of political and economic uncertainty"; Air Transat pointed to "the current geopolitical situation"; Sunwing Vacations Group called it a "difficult decision" driven by "the current operating environment." All three suspended operations "indefinitely", not paused for the season, not under review, indefinitely.

The numbers tell the story: between January and April 2026, Cuba welcomed just 328,608 international visitors, down 55.8% from 2025, with hotel occupancy reportedly under 10%.

Where the capacity went: new routes for winter 2026–27

Airlines don't park aircraft, they redeploy them. The winter 2026–27 schedules show exactly where Cuba's capacity is going:

Sunwing Vacations (winter program runs November 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027) added three new city pairs alongside returning favourites (Cancún, Punta Cana, Montego Bay):

• Toronto → Acapulco
• Winnipeg → Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic)
• Montreal → Cozumel

Air Canada Vacations added four new destinations built on Air Canada's expanded winter network:

• Mazatlán, Mexico, from Vancouver (Tue/Fri, Dec 15, 2026 – Apr 9, 2027)
• Mérida, Mexico, from Toronto (Mon/Sat, Nov 21, 2026 – Apr 17, 2027)
• Roatán, Honduras, from Montreal (Sat) and Toronto (Sun), mid-December to mid-April
• Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from Montreal

Air Canada also launched the only non-stop North America flights to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, a genuinely new option for Canadians willing to fly further for winter sun.

The pattern is clear: Mexico's Pacific coast (Mazatlán, Acapulco) and the western Caribbean (Roatán, Cozumel, Mérida) are absorbing the growth, alongside the Dominican Republic's continued expansion (Samaná joined the portfolio last year, Puerto Plata keeps growing).

Where Canadians are actually booking

The trade press and the data agree: displaced Cuba demand is flowing to the familiar triangle, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, with Roatán and the ABC islands picking up the adventurous fringe.

Allianz Global Assistance Canada's ninth annual Winter Vacation Confidence Study, released October 2026, puts numbers on the mood: 46% of Canadians are confident they'll take a winter vacation this year, an 11-point jump from last winter and broadly back to pre-pandemic norms. Mexico and the Caribbean top the destination list at 30%, just ahead of domestic travel at 29%. The US has collapsed as a winter destination (14% overall, and only 8% among boomers, down 19 points), which concentrates even more demand in the sun belt.

For the Cuba loyalist, the honest translation of "where to go instead":

• Cheapest beach replacement: Dominican Republic (Punta Cana, Puerto Plata), the closest thing to old Cuba pricing, with the most Canadian airlift.
• Best infrastructure: Riviera Maya/Cancún, pricier, but the resort quality and flight frequency are unmatched.
• The new frontiers: Acapulco (Sunwing's bet from Toronto), Roatán (Honduras, diving, smaller resorts, new non-stops), Mazatlán (Pacific Mexico from Vancouver).
• Staying home: Domestic winter travel is at 29%, and for a very different kind of winter trip, our northern lights guide at northern lights viewing guide is worth a look.

The price question: are Caribbean prices rising?

Yes, and this is the structural consequence of losing Cuba. Cuba's million-plus annual Canadian visitors weren't just travellers; they were a giant block of cheap all-inclusive inventory that kept Caribbean package prices competitive. With that supply gone and demand surging (46% confidence, remember), competition for resort rooms and airline seats is tightening availability and pushing costs up across Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Travel advisors are blunt about the implication: the last-minute bargains that were common when Cuba flooded the market with inexpensive inventory are largely gone. The old Cuba playbook, wait until January and grab a $899 Varadero week, does not work in the 2026–27 market.

When to book

The booking incentives tell you when the industry wanted your money: Sunwing's early-booking promo (up to $1,000 off per pair) ran through June 28, 2026, and Air Canada Vacations' early booking bonus ran April to late June. Both have expired, which means you're now in the regular pricing window, and the trade advice is consistent: book earlier than you historically have. Peak weeks (Christmas/New Year, March break) are already seeing the tightest availability in years. If you're flexible, late January and early February still offer the best value-to-availability ratio.

One more practical note: with airlines still adjusting capacity toward "destinations where Canadians are more likely to travel" (in Allianz's words), new routes like Winnipeg–Puerto Plata or Vancouver–Mazatlán may have limited weekly frequencies, book the flights before the resorts, not the other way around.

Practical next steps

• If you had a Cuba trip booked: all three airline groups are offering rebooking to alternative destinations or full refunds, contact them directly rather than waiting.
• Pick your tier: DR for budget, Riviera Maya for reliability, Roatán/Mazatlán/Acapulco for the new-route value plays.
• Book peak weeks now; shoulder weeks (mid-January to February) for the best prices.
• Buy travel insurance with trip-interruption coverage, the Cuba episode is a reminder that destinations can disappear mid-season. (See Thanksgiving weekend getaway ideas for shorter-haul trip ideas if a full sun week doesn't fit the budget.)

The bottom line

Cuba's exit removed the price floor from the Canadian winter-sun market, and nothing replaces a million cheap Varadero packages overnight. But the industry has moved fast, Acapulco, Cozumel, Puerto Plata, Roatán and Mazatlán are the new names on the departure boards, demand is back at pre-pandemic levels, and the Caribbean is absorbing the shock. The one rule that changed: book early. The Cuba-era last-minute deal is dead; the 2026–27 winter belongs to planners.

Sources

• Travelweek, Sunwing Vacations Group suspends Cuba program (June 2026)
• Travel Market Report, Air Canada, Sunwing/WestJet & Air Transat All Suspend Cuba Flights Indefinitely (June 2026)
• Cuba Headlines, Canadian Tourists Opt for Dominican Republic, Mexico After Sunwing Halts Cuba Trips
• Caribbean Journal, Sunwing Is Adding Three New Winter Vacation Routes (September 2026)
• Open Jaw, Air Canada Vacations Adds Mazatlan, Roatan and More to Winter Sun (April 2026)
• Air Canada, New Flights to the Canary Islands, Plus More Vacation Options (April 6, 2026)
• PAX News, Canadians' winter travel confidence surges 11 points: Allianz study (October 2026)
• TravelPulse Canada, Allianz Report: Nearly Half of Canadians Are Booking Winter Getaways Again (October 2026)
• Travel and Tour World, Higher Caribbean Holiday Prices as Cuba Crisis Redirects Winter Travel Demand (October 2026)