Russian tourists have shown insensitivity to the events in the Middle East

According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) the shelling of Israel by Iran on April 13-14 had only a slight impact on tour demand to popular Middle Eastern and North African destinations. Most flights from Russia to these countries were not cancelled. However, there were some delays on Aeroflot flights, including those to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. At the same time, other airlines, including Russian and Egyptian carriers, simply changed their routes and landed in Egypt during the night of April 14, contrary to some reports that Egypt had closed its airspace.

Although the crisis lasted only for a few hours, it caused some disruption to flights. However the flights are operating according to schedule. The impact of the recent crisis in the Middle East on organized tourism has been minimal. Package tours to Israel and Jordan, as well as Lebanon, have not been sold by tour operators since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza in autumn 2023. This means that the crisis has not affected the organized tourist flow to these countries due to the fact that there was no direct travel to these areas.

Sales of tours to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have not slowed down, and there have been no cancellations due to the crisis. Some concerns were expressed regarding a possible decrease in demand and increase in cancellations for tours to popular destinations such as Egypt and the UAE. However, the players in the tourism market have stated that Russians have correctly assessed the risks and have not refused to travel on vacation to these destinations. At the moment, there have been no significant changes in the sales of tours to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates due to the weekend events. No cancellations have occurred either, according to Coral Travel.

According to the results from Sunday and Monday, there has also been no change in the sales dynamics in these areas with Anex, PEGAS Touristik, Intourist, Russian Express, and PAC Group.

Compared to the standard levels after the events on April 14, there have been no cancellations for tours to Egypt or the UAE, according to PEGAS Touristik. All other companies gave the same assessment - none of the market players have seen an increase in cancellations beyond the standard level.

The situation remains calm at the resorts in Egypt and the UAE, and all business operations of tour operators continue as usual, according to Anex. "We have not seen any significant changes in the sales dynamics of tours to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt compared to the previous week. There have been no cancellations. Currently, it is the high season for these destinations and sales have already started to slow down for some hotels in the UAE," says Space Travel.

TOURS TO IRAN HAVE BEGUN TO BE CANCELLED ON FRIDAY, BUT THOSE CANCELLATIONS HAVE NOW STOPPED

Tours to Iran, in contrast to Egypt and the UAE, are offered by a limited number of tour operators. Iran is currently an excursion and niche destination in the Russian market. Traditionally, Russians travel abroad in larger numbers for a beach holiday by the warm sea, rather than for sightseeing purposes. Tour operators unequivocally describe sales of tours to Iran as "niche" and "point-based", as applications for these tours have not been submitted every day in the past. Therefore, it is not yet possible to talk about a decline in demand, as there is no relevant basis for comparison.

"We offer sightseeing tours to Iran, but these are all on-request tours, which are not a mass product. Therefore, we cannot assess the impact of recent events on demand," notes Space Travel.

Sightseeing trips to Iran are quite expensive, so refusals are likely to come from more "nervous" tourists who may have already had reservations before the recent events. The Russian Express emphasizes that the cancellation of sightseeing tours to Iran started on Friday, April 12th. However, by Monday, when the situation had cleared up, the cancellations had stopped. The next arrival of tourists to Iran from tour operators is scheduled for April 20th, and none has yet announced their refusal to travel.

Intourist, Space Travel, and PAC Group also do not have any cancellations of tours to Iran at the moment.

It can be stated that Russian tourists in general have shown a great resilience to the Middle East crisis. This can be attributed to two factors: the psychological resistance they have developed to more serious shocks through time, a conscious desire for rest and planned vacations, and the high cost of foreign trips.