Experts expect the tourist flow to the Middle East to recover by July

Approximately 1,9 thousand Russians are waiting for outbound flights from the UAE, the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) told Izvestia. They cannot take off due to the conflict between Iran and Israel and the closure of the airspace over these countries.

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The stranded tourists are mostly in the UAE cities of Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but there are passengers who were unable to fly from the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Against the background of the conflict between Israel and Iran, demand for travel to the United Arab Emirates is expected to subside, but in two to three weeks after its end, the tourist flow will recover, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, vice president of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia, told Izvestia. And ATOR Vice President Artur Muradian believes that the situation should return to normal within ten days.

The demand for travel to the Middle East may decrease by 20-40% against the background of the escalated conflict, added Dmitry Gorin, Vice President of the PCT. According to him, the interest of tourists in trips to Middle Eastern countries will decrease until the situation stabilizes.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Departure task: airlines are preparing outbound flights from the Middle East