MENA region’s tourism faces challenges due to Gaza war — experts

AMMAN — Travel agents in Jordan have reported mass cancellations of previously booked trips to the Kingdom, amidst safety concerns as the Israeli war on Gaza worsens.

Board Member of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents (JSTA) Isam Al Shaer said that all joint tourist programmes between Jordan and Israel have been cancelled.

The cancellation rate among tours from other countries to Jordan, booked for October, November and December, has reached approximately 75 per cent, he told The Jordan Times. 

This period marks the beginning of the “high season” for tourism, mostly receiving visitors from Europe, the US and Latin America, according to Shaer. 

He added that the JSTA has not yet developed a response plan to alleviate losses in the sector. It aims to cooperate with the government to implement a mechanism to support tour operators in the sector and boost a quick recovery, following the war.

Ongoing war likely to hurt MENA tourism

The credit rating agency S&P Global said in a report issued on November 6 that the ongoing war on Gaza will have economic repercussions on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

It views that Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan are most vulnerable when considering the impact of the war on tourism, “due to their geographic proximity and the potential for some aspects of the conflict to expand across their borders”. 

It noted that tourism contributed to 21 per cent of Jordan’s current account receipts last year. This figure was 12 per cent and 3 per cent for Egypt and Israel, respectively.

Lebanon is the most reliant on the tourism sector among these countries, as it accounts for 26 per cent of its current account receipts, according to the report.

It also pointed out that Egypt is more vulnerable than Jordan “despite a lower economic concentration in tourism”.

“This is because revenue shortfalls would weigh more on its external position amid large external debt repayments coming due,” it stated. 

However, the report predicts that potential support from international donors to Egypt and Jordan will mitigate the impact of the war on their economies, since their instability risks spill over to the rest of the region.

“It is important to emphasise the quite large share of visitors from the region and diaspora in total tourism arrivals, which should help shield the sector from a larger sector shock,” it noted.

Jordanian non-residents and other Arabs accounted for 73 per cent of tourism income in Jordan in the 12 months to June 30. This category constituted 80 per cent of total arrivals in Lebanon for the first seven months of 2023, according to the report.

“On the other hand, the Egyptian market’s reliance on arrivals from Western Europe, including the U.K., is higher, and sunshine-seeking visitors, including those on package holidays, may have no preference for specific destinations,” it added.