Middle East Crisis

The escalation in the Middle East has also affected tourism in the eastern and southern Mediterranean. Türkiye, Egypt and Cyprus - key pillars of European outbound tourism - have, however, demonstrated a notable degree of resilience. Their handling of this difficult situation can serve as a blueprint for other destinations.

What do these countries have in common? Their national authorities reacted swiftly and coordinated closely with major industry stakeholders, including TUI Group. In doing so, they have sought to put in place required conditions for recovery.

Essential factors include:

• Securing key flight connections: the authorities are supporting airlines and tour operators in maintaining core international routes. Where required, targeted routing adjustments were implemented to avoid sensitive corridors, while safety considerations were fully respected without restrictions at all times.
• Support measures for airlines: governments have provided targeted support to airlines in particular. This includes flight incentives, temporary fee reductions and operational support. This enabled airlines to maintain competitive prices despite significant challenges and to stabilise the tourism ecosystem.
• Making hotel operations flexible: hotels across Türkiye, Egypt and Cyprus introduced flexible booking conditions, including extended cancellation windows and rebooking options, to provide additional flexibility to travellers.
• Communicating proactively: tourism authorities communicated quickly, clearly and professionally. Security measures were explained in detail, while timely updates and clarifications ensured transparency. These measures helped to avoid unnecessary cancellations and enabled booking decisions to be made on the basis of facts.

"The question for ministers and investors is not whether tourism will recover, but how quickly they will choose to enable it."

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) analysed four decades of global crisis data in May 2026. The result is clear: No major destination has ever suffered a permanent collapse - recovery is the norm, and its pace depends almost entirely on the quality of the political response.

Click for the study.

TUI: a reliable partner in times of crisis

Türkiye, Egypt and Cyprus are managing the impact of the conflict in the Middle East through coordinated, targeted and pragmatic measures. Crucially, governments and authorities in these countries and regions are working in a spirit of trust with stakeholders in the tourism sector, such as the TUI Group. On this basis, we can help stabilise these destinations even in difficult times.

Book flexibly, travel safely

TUI's Dynamic Packaging combines individuality with full legal protection: travellers can flexibly combine flights, hotels and transfers - and are fully covered by the EU Package Travel Directive. Destinations can therefore look forward to welcoming guests who are directly supported by TUI in the event of a crisis. Source-market governments benefit too: as the package organiser, TUI is legally responsible for assistance and return transport - so repatriation does not rest with public authorities.