British holidaymakers are altering their summer travel plans away from the eastern Mediterranean towards western Europe and the Caribbean due to the ongoing Middle East conflict, travel companies have reported. The US‑Israel war on Iran has led to flight cancellations and airspace closures, prompting tourists to seek alternative destinations.
Tui, Europe’s largest holiday operator, noted a sharp rise in demand for Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cape Verde. Neil Swanson, a Tui director, said customers are choosing “familiar, easy‑to‑reach locations” and that amendments outweigh cancellations. Hays Travel’s Jonathon Woodall‑Johnston added that Italy, Malta and Croatia are seeing particularly strong demand.
Interest in Caribbean holidays has surged, with Kuoni’s Mark Duguid describing demand as “off the charts”. Flight prices have climbed sharply; round‑trip London‑Antigua fares rose 27% to £917 within a week. The price increases are pricing some customers out of the market.
The conflict has hit travel industry shares hard. On the Beach suspended annual profit guidance after a “significant slowdown” in bookings to Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Its shares fell up to 13%. EasyJet and Jet2 shares dropped 16% and 10% respectively. Loveholidays is reportedly delaying its planned flotation.
The Middle East’s tourism sector is losing $600 million (£448 million) a day in visitor spending, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. British Airways cancelled its seasonal Abu Dhabi route from Heathrow, and Wizz Air is reallocating about 25‑30 daily flights from the Middle East to European destinations until September.
