The Middle East conflict has raised concerns among tourists travelling to nearby countries which has led to an increase in holiday cancellations for Cyprus, whose economy heavily depends on summer tourism.
The start of the US and Israeli attacks coincided with Cyprus’ tourism reopening after winter. As Iran carried out a series of retaliatory attacks, a drone struck a British naval base on the island, prompting many tourists to cancel their trips.
Tourist cancellations highlight the conflict’s economic effects, along with rising fuel prices and broader disruptions to local businesses.
Data from US-based AirDNA, which tracks booking rates, revealed daily cancellation rates for short-term rentals in Cyprus rose from around 15% before the conflict to 100% in the days that followed. While this figure has since reduced to 45%, the damage to the tourist industry has been significant.
Cyprus’ Hoteliers Association reported nearly a 40% decrease in March bookings, with a similar decline in April.
Nicholas Aristou, Commerical Director at luxury hotel brand Muskita Hotels in Limassol said, “Since March 1… we have had a lot of cancellations coming through… We have to protect the high season months to make sure we can turn things around by the time May comes along, otherwise the destination will be in trouble.”
Budget airlines EasyJet and Jet2 have also seen reduced demand for Cyprus and Turkey.
Greece has also been similarly affected by tourist cancellations. A spokesperson for Greece’s largest airline, Aegean Airlines, confirmed a double-digit drop in summer bookings from Israel and Gulf states to Greece since the start of the Iran conflict.
“We are in a wait-and-see phase,” George Vernicos, Secretary General of Greece’s Tourism Confederation SETE, said. He remains hopeful saying, “There is a restraint but the year is still running positively, also because the momentum was quite high before the war began.”
Vernicos noted that tourists rushed to secure flights before rising oil prices increased ticket costs.
Source: Keep Talking Greece
