The price of haste: how not to lose money when canceling tours to the Middle East
Russians have begun to abandon tours to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other popular resorts in the Middle East amid the military conflict in the region. In response, tour operators, according to media reports, began to fine those who decided to hand over the paid ticket. This is only partially true — tourists whose trips are scheduled for dates before March 8 will cancel their tours or be offered an alternative. But those who have to fly later will have to pay for the cancellation. At the same time, both experts and tour operators advise not to rush to make a decision, waiting for the further development of the situation. How the refusal of the tour will turn out is in the Izvestia article.
Who should cancel the tours
The military conflict in the Middle East has also directly affected Russian tourists — some of them were unable to return home on time due to the closure of airspace. As of March 2, the association "Turpomosh" reported to Izvestia about 23 thousand people who were supposed to fly to Russia, but could not do so due to flight cancellations. Now people have begun to be gradually taken out of the region.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the most popular foreign holiday destinations for Russians. They occupy the second place: according to ATOR, more than 1.1 million Russian citizens visited this country in the first half of 2025 alone. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran and Jordan are also among the top 30 popular destinations.
A large number of compatriots were going to the Middle East in the near future. But not all tourists turned out to be ready to fly to the UAE against the background of the ongoing military operation of the United States and Israel. There were reports in the media that many tourists began to cancel tours even for April, not wanting to fly to a military conflict zone with children. However, as stated, tour operators refuse to refund the full amount upon refusal and fine Russians hundreds of thousands of rubles. Several stories are given as an example: one of the large companies allegedly refused to return 307 thousand rubles for a ticket with a departure date of March 4, and the other withheld almost 100 thousand rubles from the April tour for 450 thousand rubles.
This information was denied by the Russian Union of Tour Operators. The organization stated that hotlines and specialized chat rooms have been promptly set up for tourists, where they can receive clarifications and consultations.
"Customers are offered postponement of travel dates, as well as alternative destinations, including Turkey, Egypt and Asian countries,— the PCT told Izvestia.
It is claimed that in the case of concerned Russians, tour operators "take all possible measures to obtain a full refund for air tickets and accommodation from airlines and hotels."
However, you can only get a full refund on the nearest departure dates. Fun&Sun, in particular, told Izvestia that tourists who are in Russia and must fly to the UAE by March 8, inclusive, are offered to postpone their trip to other dates at the current price of the website, rebook to alternative tourist destinations, or cancel the tour without deducting the actual costs incurred. Other major tour operators followed the same path.
For departures in the coming days, it is recommended to cancel tours and offer alternative destinations to tourists, confirmed Artur Muradian, member of the PCT Board, CEO of Space Travel.
Tourists themselves in the PCT are advised not to postpone flights scheduled "for very long dates." Tour operators assume that previous conflicts in the Middle East region "ended fairly quickly." At the same time, those wishing to cancel the flight risk encountering the "delayed demand effect": if everything returns to normal after a week, then it will not be possible to purchase tickets at the same price. For this reason, tourists are advised not to cancel tours with departure dates after March 8-9, but to "wait at least three days."
The same rules are followed by travel agents who offer their clients to monitor the situation, emphasizing that no one is interested in sending people to unsafe conditions. For example, Natalia Sidorova, a representative of the travel agency Together Flew, said that some of her clients had already booked tours to the UAE for April and had not yet decided to cancel them, because everyone was watching the situation.
She added that most tour operators have introduced cancellation of tours without penalties until March 8, but there are also those who provide such an opportunity until March 18.
When can I get a refund for future tours?
The Turpomosh association emphasized that in case of cancellation of the tour at the initiative of the tourist, the refund is made "minus the expenses actually incurred by the tour operator." This approach is explicitly provided for by law.
"If the execution of the contract becomes impossible due to circumstances beyond the control of the parties (including the closure of airspace or official restrictions), the procedure established by the norms on force majeure and the impossibility of fulfilling obligations is applied," the association noted.
Each situation requires individual consideration: what was the departure date, what is the status of the flight, whether there is a decision by the aviation authorities and official recommendations from government agencies. Turpomoshie added that the objective expenses of tour operators cannot be ignored either.
The law establishes the obligation to refund funds in full in the event that there is a threat to the life and health of tourists in a particular country, said Georgy Mokhov, Vice President of the PCT and head of the Persona Grata law firm. But for this, the authorities must issue appropriate recommendations and confirm the existence of a threat.
— Then the provision of services is postponed for the period of force majeure, or the parties come to an agreement on a replacement for another region, postponement of the date of travel or a commensurate change in the price of the tourist product, - the expert explained to Izvestia.
He noted that Dubai is also a megahub, and tourists can fly through it to Bali or the Maldives, where there is no military action, but transportation is not yet possible or is becoming more expensive.
— In most cases, tour operators meet tourists halfway. If the flight is scheduled to take place today or tomorrow, they refund the full price and then resolve financial issues with the hotels and carriers themselves," explained Georgy Mokhov. — If the dates are later, in a week or more, it is recommended not to cancel the trip yet and wait for the carrier's decision, since it is one thing for the passenger to refuse, but another thing is if the airline cancels the flight itself and refunds the money for the ticket.
The deduction by the tour operator of the actual costs incurred in case of cancellation of the trip on the personal initiative of the tourist is prescribed in the contract when buying the tour, Natalia Sidorova reminded. And each company has different such FPS.
— It always depends on the day on which the tourist wants to cancel the tour. And if, for example, the May tour is canceled at the end of April, most likely, the tourist will face a one hundred percent commission on the cost of the tour," the source told Izvestia.
She added that you can use the non-flight insurance service, which allows you to refund money for canceling a tour for objective reasons. But usually we are talking about the illness or death of a loved one and some other circumstances, but not about the fear of flying to a particular country.
— This is not included in any insurance, — the travel agent clarified. — Tourists will receive a refund only if the country is really unsafe and flights are closed.
In practice, it is often possible to come to an agreement. For example, Yaromila Yulanova, a resident of Yekaterinburg, told about her unsuccessful tour to launch Proton from Baikonur. She bought one—day trips for herself and her husband - 70 thousand rubles without tickets for each. However, the launch was postponed. The tour operator referred to force majeure circumstances and offered to refund only 10 thousand rubles to each client. Then the tourists managed to agree on the postponement of the tour for the time when the start would still take place. However, in the end, neither money nor impressions could be obtained: in February, when the rocket was launched into space, the couple could not reach Baikonur due to road closures in Kazakhstan due to weather conditions. Tourists traveled to the cosmodrome on their own, so they were forced to lose 140 thousand rubles.
How to compensate tour operators for losses
Meanwhile, tour operators in a situation of military conflict are incurring huge financial losses — in the PCT, the daily expenses alone for extending the stay of tourists in Arab countries were estimated at $1.5 million per day.
In this regard, tour operators again recalled the Personal Responsibility Fund, which they created to help tourists stranded in other countries due to travel company bankruptcies. Artur Muradian noted that now is "the time to reform the approach" to access to this fund, which is formed from the money of tour operators.
Now these funds are "dead weight" without the possibility of using them to solve the financial problems of tourists, Georgy Mokhov said.
"Perhaps this situation will once again bring us back to the discussion about the practical benefits of personal liability funds, which cannot be used except in bankruptcy," suggested the Izvestia interlocutor.
He recalled that during the pandemic, there was already a precedent when a special government decree allowed funds to be paid from the fund to affected tourists. With proper regulatory design, such mechanisms can be effective and contribute to market stabilization, Turpomoshie admitted.
"At the same time, any change in the fund's purpose requires legislative consolidation and clear regulation so as not to violate its basic function of protecting tourists in the event of bankruptcy of tour operators," the association stressed.
It is necessary to ensure a balance between the interests of tourists and market participants in the legal field, avoiding decisions "capable of undermining the stability of the financial guarantee system of the industry," the organization concluded.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Economic Development and the country's largest tour operators. No responses had been received at the time of publication.
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