New Study Shows Tourism Decrease In Conflict-Affected Areas

Forward Keys found that during the first three weeks of the battle between Israel and Hamas, reservations for flights to Middle Eastern destinations dropped significantly.

Since Hamas's assault on Israel on October 7th, international reservations have dropped worldwide. Consumer confidence has also taken a hit as a result. Global air traffic in Q4 was expected to exceed 95% of its 2019 level based on reservations as of October 6; however, this forecast has since dropped by 7% to 88% as of October 27.

Forward Keys' data confirmed that the number of tourists visiting Israel has dropped significantly. In the three weeks before October 7th, bookings to the nation were down 23% compared to the same period in 2019. They dropped 178% in the subsequent three weeks. Since this number takes cancellations into consideration, it's possible for reservations to drop by more than 100%.

Other Middle Eastern nations also witnessed large drop-offs in inbound reservations with the outbreak of the conflict. The next three weeks saw a 45 percent decline in reservations to Lebanon compared to a 2019 baseline, where the terrorist group Hezbollah has been exchanging rocket fire with Israel. Both Jordan and Egypt, which share a border with Israel, saw significant drops in visitors: 54 and 35 percent, respectively.

Incoming reservations for Saudi Arabia increased 75% from 2019 levels in the three weeks previous to October 7 but then dropped 67% from the 2019 baseline in the three weeks after.

Compared to the 2019 baseline, Forward Keys discovered that Middle Eastern bookings dropped by 26.1% during the course of the study period.

Meanwhile, international reservations to go abroad decreased, but less sharply. The Americas witnessed the greatest drop, down 10 percentage points from a 2019 average for outbound reservations, second only to the Middle East.

Globally, overseas reservations lagged 2019 by 15% during the weeks preceding Oct. 7. According to Forward Keys, that percentage increased to 20% during the subsequent three weeks.

 

Source: travelweekly.com