After the war began in the Gulf region, TUI, the largest German tour operator, has seen the first changes in customer booking behaviour. “There are two destinations that saw higher bookings this week, and they could not have been more different: Japan and Hawaii” a company spokesperson told “Welt am Sonntag”. The spokesperson cautioned that it was too early to extrapolate these trends to the rest of the year.
By the end of March, package holidays to the United Arab Emirates were already tapering off, as is normal for a winter destination. The firm added that guests who were unable to travel in March are now postponing their Dubai vacations to the fall, when temperatures in the Middle East become more pleasant. “We see that guests who couldn’t travel in March are moving their Dubai holidays to the autumn” the spokesperson said.
With the Iran crisis expected to end soon, the German travel industry anticipates a swift return of tourists to the Gulf. “Past crises show that tourism is a very resilient sector – as soon as stability returns, so does the desire to travel” said Albin Loidl, president of the German Travel Association, quoted in “Welt am Sonntag”.
Tourism typically recovers after disruptions, Loidl noted, and he expects the same for the Gulf region. He sees no lasting impact of the war on German summer destinations. “For summer 2026, the classic Mediterranean spots – Turkey, Spain, and Greece – will still top the wish list” he said.