Japan has emerged as the single destination seeing the biggest increase in demand following the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, according to trade body PATA UK & Ireland.
Some 43% of its travel agent members reported a spike in interest for Japan in a recent PATA poll.
Thailand is also performing well, with 39% seeing rising demand, while Singapore and Vietnam have each seen increased demand from 32% of respondents.
A total of 85 agents took part in the poll, which was carried out specifically to gage the impact of the Middle East conflict on demand for holidays.
PATA UK & Ireland Chairman Chris Crampton said: “Many Pacific Asia and Australasia destinations rely on the Middle East as a key travel gateway, so we wanted to understand what impact the conflict is having on enquiries and bookings, and which destinations are either suffering or seeing increased demand.”
While some destinations are seeing more interest, others are struggling due to escalating air fares and a shortage of capacity.
Some 94% of agents who responded to the poll said they had seen increased prices, and 57% said they had noticed reduced availability due to travellers avoiding the Middle East hubs.
As a result of rising air fares, 55% of agents said they had seen a ‘significant’ decrease in demand for the Maldives.
“Many clients won’t entertain travelling via the Middle East, whilst some are still willing and wanting to travel to or via the region,” said PATA member Michelle Pollock of Constance Hotels & Resorts.
“Direct carriers such as British Airways and Air Mauritius have unfortunately dampened the demand for the Maldives and Mauritius due to high pricing at £2500 to £3500 per person in economy. At times like this, we should all work together as an industry to keep consumers travelling to our destinations.”
According to 31% of agents, Australia, India and Malaysia have all seen positive gains. Sri Lanka and New Zealand were cited as increasingly popular by 18% of respondents.
In order to further boost tourism, Sri Lanka has waived its US$50 Electronic Travel Authorisation for overseas visitors, including from the UK.
However, the regions seeing the biggest boom in demand, according to the PATA poll, are Europe, with 59% of agents reporting an increase in bookings, and the Caribbean (54%), followed by Asia and Australasia (44%) and the US (31%), one of the three hosts of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
Ahead of the survey, PATA spokesperson and Best at Travel Product Manager Sam Collins said he had already noticed a ‘reversal of trends’, with half of bookings being for 2027 as customers seek to secure ‘the room they want, the hotel they want, and more importantly, a direct carrier at affordable rates’.
