Ep 290: The Economic Impacts of War in the Middle East for Travel & Tourism Across South East Asia

“It’s a cliche to say that everything is in flux, and that there is a great deal of uncertainty across travel economies. But it’s true.” The US and Israel’s ongoing aerial bombardment of Iran and Lebanon - and the worsening unintended consequences of retaliatory strikes on energy assets and other installations across the Middle East - are raising crisis fears across Asian economies. Travel and tourism are once again in the cross-hairs, and it’s starting to feel like Covid 2.0. How are travellers, governments and travel operators responding across South East Asia – and what are the critical issues to prepare for? This week, Gary and Hannah journey through the murky waters of crisis travel economics as wartime uncertainties escalate. En route we discuss energy costs, tour cancellations, refund policies, repatriation costs, booking windows and flight re-routings. We address cost of living increases, inflation, jet fuel, fare spikes, fuel surcharges, energy subsidies, plane leasing and currency volatility. Plus, how important are Middle Eastern and European source markets for different ASEAN visitor economies? Where do Seychelles fit into the equation? And should we plan for a short-term increase of intra-regional travel?