From June 16 to 22, sales of tours to the UAE fell by more than 30%, to Egypt - by 9%. The outflow of Russian travelers due to the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East was felt by other countries in the region and long-haul destinations, for trips to which the UAE served as a hub. The situation may worsen even more with the restriction of flights to Qatar and Kuwait, travelers are already starting to look for alternative routes for themselves.
A drop in sales on Middle Eastern destinations was recorded not only by all major tour operators, but also by independent booking services.
The main drop was caused by the closure of the airspace of Iran, Israel, Jordan, neighboring countries and widespread flight delays. Some travelers were deprived of the opportunity to quickly return home, and tour operators were forced to partially stop selling tours.
On the evening of June 23, the situation became more complicated. The authorities of Qatar, which was subjected to a missile attack by Iran, officially announced the closure of its airspace. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) explained that no more than 100 organized tourists from Russia can currently be in the country. There may be significantly more independent travelers. Qatar is not considered a mass resort destination, but is actively used by Russians as a logistics hub for trips to other destinations. ATOR does not rule out that some travelers may now be waiting for connecting flights at the airport. Rosaviatsia has ordered Russian carriers not to operate flights to Qatar.
Problems have also started on other routes. ATOR reported the closure of Kuwait's airspace. A Turkish Airlines representative indicated on social media that the carrier had cancelled flights to the Persian Gulf countries scheduled for June 23. This concerns flights to Bahrain, Dammam (Saudi Arabia), Doha (Qatar), Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Muscat (Oman).
Having abandoned trips to the Middle East, Russian tourists may partially reorient themselves to other destinations. Thus, at Ostrovok, following the results of last week, they noted a significant increase in demand for European destinations. The number of bookings for accommodation in Spain increased by 38%, in France - by 19%, and in Italy - by 8%. Growth was also shown by the Asian countries in demand this season. Interest in China increased by 5%, in Japan - by 7%. A pronounced redistribution of demand is also observed in the segment of organized tours. Sletat.ru notes that last week sales of tours to Cuba increased by 91.7%, Thailand showed an increase of 27.3%, and Abkhazia by 10.5%.
