PCT advised not to rush cancellations of tours to the Middle East

Travelers may not cancel tours to the Middle East with departure dates after March 8-9, as the current escalation of the conflict may be short-term. This was announced on March 1 on the website of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT).

"I advise people not to rush to cancel tours for departure dates from March 9 onwards, we need to wait at least three days, as the situation may change," said Artur Muradian, member of the PCT Board, CEO of Space Travel.

In turn, Emirates Airline allows passengers to receive money for a ticket or change the departure date without penalties within 10 days from the date of flight cancellation (up to and including March 11).

Dmitry Arutyunov, co-head of the PCT Committee on outbound Tourism, urged not to postpone flights scheduled for remote dates.

"Because, as we have seen in previous conflicts in the region, everything was over pretty quickly. In addition, the pent-up demand effect will have an impact. It's the height of the season in the Emirates, and if everything returns to normal in a week, it's not a fact that tourists will be able to purchase tickets at the same price," Arutyunov explained.

Fun&Sun offered several replacement options to tourists who did not fly to the UAE or purchased tours with departure dates before March 8. According to tour operators, most travelers agree to change destinations because they are determined to rest. Tours with transit flights through the Middle East are currently organized through other hubs — Istanbul, Beijing, Shanghai, Addis Ababa.

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The airports of Dubai, the largest city in the UAE, suspended operations indefinitely on February 28 due to the escalation of the conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran. At that time, Aeroflot also canceled all its flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The airline extended this measure until March 1.

Like Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines and Pobeda Airlines cancelled their flights to Dubai on March 1. Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of ATOR, told Izvestia that Russian tourists stranded in the UAE due to the closure of the airspace are fully accommodated in hotels. Most of them are located in the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. Tours ended for about 10% of vacationers.

Abu Dhabi and Ras al Khaimah confirmed their willingness to compensate hotels for the cost of extending the stay of tourists. However, payment for accommodation is possible only if the tourist personally contacts the agency and confirms that he does not have financial resources. According to the union, this practice creates additional difficulties for people in a stressful situation. As a result, cases of tourists being evicted in the absence of payment are recorded in a number of hotels in Dubai.

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