Iran War Causing Sharp Shock To UAE Travel

The emerging war in the Middle East is reverberating across its travel and hospitality sector, with operators in the region facing a surge of cancellations and a sharp slowdown in forward bookings. 

While big brands such as Rove, Premier Inn, Taj, Jumeirah Hotels, Hyatt and Accor did not respond to requests for comment, Skift was able to make contact with smaller operators such as Majestic Hotels, which manages 450 keys across three properties in Dubai.

“The next two weeks look very, very slow. We’ve roughly had about 70% to 75% of cancellations in the next two to three weeks because of the ongoing war,” Eti Bhasin, executive director at Majestic Hotels, told Skift. 

“The week of Eid [Eid al-Fitr falls on March 19-20] was looking very busy, where we were expecting travel from nearby GCC countries. But that will also