by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Fri November 10, 2023
New data revealed the attack by Hamas on Israel in October
has not only impacted tourism in the Middle East, but also hurt the global
travel industry, which has slowed by five percentage points since the attacks.
According to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys, outbound
travel flight bookings from Middle Eastern countries fell by nine percent since
October, while air service from the Americas slowed by 10 percent.
Data also found that the Asia Pacific, European and African
regions each slowed by two percent.
“This war is a catastrophic, heartbreaking, human tragedy
that we are all seeing daily on our TV screens,” ForwardKeys VP Insights Olivier
Ponti said. “That is bound to put people off travelling to the region, but it
has also dented consumer confidence in travelling elsewhere too.”
“As of October 6, bookings showed that global air travel in
the last quarter of the year, Q4, would reach 95% of its 2019 level, but, as of
27th October, the outlook has fallen back by 7 p.p. and stands at 88%,” Ponti
continued. “The equivalent change in outlook for the Middle East is much more
sobering, falling back 16 p.p. to 110%, from 126%, before the war began.”
From a destination perspective, the growth in bookings to
all regions has slowed down, except for Africa, which has continued to recover
toward 2019 levels. Flight bookings to the Americas are down six percent, to
Europe down three percent, to Asia Pacific down one percent and to the Middle
East down 26 percent.
Statistically, Israel has suffered the worst, with many
airlines canceling all flights to the region, with bookings declining by 155
percent. Saudi Arabia is down 67 percent, Jordan is down 54 percent, Lebanon is
down 45 percent and Egypt is down 35 percent.
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