In the wake of escalating tensions in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the tourism industry in the Middle East has experienced a significant downturn, disrupting what had been a thriving year for travel in the region.
The conflict, which erupted in early October, has not only led to a halt in international tourism to Israel but has also had a ripple effect on neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. The broader repercussions of the war extend beyond the travel sector, posing a substantial threat to the economies of nations heavily reliant on tourism.
The impact spans various segments of the travel industry, with international travel operators scaling back or postponing excursions, cruise lines adjusting itineraries, and airlines drastically reducing services. Fears surrounding safety and government warnings have prompted many travelers to cancel or postpone their plans to visit the region.
Local tour operators are concerned about the potential long-term effects of a prolonged conflict on an industry that had shown promise and growth.
Khaled Ibrahim, a consultant for Amisol Travel Egypt and a member of the Middle East Travel Alliance, expressed his concerns, stating, “We foresaw the Middle East evolving into the ‘New Europe’ with the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement and Saudi Arabia’s integration into the tourism system. We all hope that this war does not escalate and shatter the hopes that people — Arabs, Israelis, and Iranians alike — have been holding onto.” Amisol Travel in Egypt has reported only 40 to 50 percent of its typical bookings for the months between February and September 2024.
Hussein Abdallah, general manager of Lebanon Tours and Travels in Beirut, noted that although he believes all of Lebanon is “100 percent safe,” he hasn’t had a single booking since the war started, prematurely ending what had been a very good year for the tour business. Tourist sites in Lebanon, like the Jeita Grotto and the Baalbek Temples, are now empty.
The war has negatively impacted the demand for travel to most Middle Eastern countries, with flight bookings to the region dropping by 26 percent in the three weeks after October 7, compared to the same period in 2019. Inbound tickets to Israel fell below negative 100 percent during this period, indicating that cancellations exceeded the number of new tickets issued.
The conflict’s repercussions extend beyond the Middle East, denting consumer confidence in traveling elsewhere. According to ForwardKeys, a data-analysis firm tracking global air travel reservations, flight bookings to all regions of the world slumped by 5 percent in the immediate weeks after the war, compared to the corresponding weeks in 2019.
This downturn comes at a time when tourism in the Middle East had been on a robust upswing from the height of the pandemic. From January through July of this year, the number of visitor arrivals to the Middle East was 20 percent above the same period in 2019, making it the only region in the world to surpass prepandemic levels, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization.
However, the conflict has disrupted this positive trajectory. The U.S. and Canadian governments are now discouraging travel to Israel, Egypt, and Lebanon, with specific advisories for citizens to exercise additional caution in Jordan.
Air service into Israel has been more than halved, with a little over 2,000 flights scheduled for this month compared to approximately 5,000 flights in November 2022. Major U.S. carriers, which suspended regular service to the main international airport in Tel Aviv soon after the fighting began, have not resumed flights.
Airlines have also suspended flights to neighboring countries. Lufthansa, the German airline, paused flight service to both Israel and Lebanon. European budget carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair temporarily stopped flying to Jordan.
