Warfare and political tensions in several otherwise attractive travel destinations are hurting business, according to a poll of travel agents by Travel Leaders Group.
Asked about whether bookings to Israel are lower compared with last year, 64.3% of agents surveyed said yes. In addition, 58.8% said bookings to Egypt were down, 34.6% said bookings to Kenya were down and 27.4% said bookings to Thailand were down.
The survey also found an impact on cruising in Russia and the Black Sea, with 69.5% saying there is no interest at this time in river cruises in Russia and 66.4% saying there is no interest in cruises with ports of call along the Black Sea.
There was, however, little fallout from the recent escalation of security measures surrounding portable electronic devices on European flights, with 72.7% saying clients were not impacted.
The poll included 1,056 agents and was done Aug. 4 to Aug. 29 across several Travel Leaders brands.
Agents reported that their cruise business is doing better than last year, with 60.2% saying bookings are higher than last year and 28.6% said they were at least even. Only 11.2% that said bookings were lower.
In contrast, only 9.4% of agents in 2009 said bookings were up, while 79.4% reported they were lower.
Asked about the most anticipated new cruise ships, agents named Royal Caribbean International’s Quantum of the Seas, Viking Cruises’ Viking Star and Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Escape, in that order.
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Follow Tom Stieghorst on Twitter @tstravelweekly.
Photo of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem's Old City courtesy of Shutterstock.