Travelers are canceling or postponing planned vacations to the Middle East and North Africa due to fears of the Israel-Hamas conflict worsening, and as touring companies have also altered itineraries and canceled flights. Leisure travel demand to the region was hit after Israel said the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas killed 1,400 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7, and Israel responded with air and ground strikes on Gaza that Palestinian authorities say have killed more than 10,000. Major airlines extended temporary halts on flights into Israel through the end of the year while cruise operators are shifting itineraries to avoid neighboring countries as well. Travel operators say the war is affecting demand for travel to nearby nations including Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. Foreig...
Read MoreTag: Israel-Hamas war
A unit of cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings is making changes to its 2024 itineraries, canceling stops in Israel due to the Israel-Hamas war, according to an email sent to travel agents seen by Reuters. The cruises will instead make port stops in cities such as Trieste, Italy instead of Israel, according to the email sent by Oceania Cruises, which is owned by Norwegian. Norwegian did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Oceania Cruises charts lesser-known coastlines and takes travelers to boutique ports and off-the-beaten-track islands Across Israel and the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, travel has declined sharply. International air carriers have stopped trips to top destinations such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv as the conflict cont...
Read More
You must be logged in to post a comment.