Unsoed Academic: Middle East Conflict Disrupts Global Tourism
Purwokerto, Central Java (ANTARA) - Unsoed academic Muhammad Yamin says conflicts in the Middle East since late February 2026 have the potential to disrupt the global tourism industry due to disrupted international air connectivity. ‘The closure of airspace in a number of Middle Eastern countries is causing significant disruption to the global air network, because the region has long been a main transit corridor for international flights,’ he said in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, on Friday.
He said the Middle East region in the last two decades has developed into a hub of global air connectivity with several major hub airports linking routes Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Moreover, he said, international airports in the Middle East such as Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi have long served as transit nodes for tens of thousands of passengers daily through major carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways.
He said when airspace in several countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, and Jordan were closed simultaneously, the impact was not only regional but also affected global mobility.
“Many international flights have been cancelled or diverted. Thousands of passengers are stranded at various airports because transit routes through the Gulf region cannot be continued,” he emphasised.
Furthermore, he said, the disruption also affects tourist destinations in various countries, including Indonesia, which has relied on international air connectivity via hubs in the Middle East.
He cited some international flights at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport that were cancelled due to disruption of routes to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha.
According to him, the flight cancellations have affected thousands of prospective passengers and some foreign tourists who are on holiday in Bali must seek alternative flights to return to their country of origin.
“This shows that the geopolitical conflicts occurring far from Indonesia can still have a domino effect on the national tourism sector,” he said.
Besides air travel disruptions, he assessed that conflicts in the Middle East could also drive up world oil prices, impacting higher operating costs for airlines.
He said such cost increases could ultimately lead to higher airfares, potentially reducing travelers’ interest in long-haul trips.
“Leisure travellers are usually very price-sensitive. When ticket prices rise, they tend to postpone travel or choose closer destinations,” he said.
He also noted that the impact could be felt in the business tourism sector such as meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE), which are heavily dependent on international air connectivity.
He said this situation should be a momentum for Indonesia to strengthen tourism resilience through diversification of international flight routes and expansion of tourist markets.
“Reducing reliance on certain transit routes by strengthening direct connectivity to key markets and expanding tourist markets from Asia and Southeast Asia,” he said.
He assessed that the global tourism industry, in essence, has strong elasticity because it has weathered various crises before, from the 11 September 2001 attacks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, he reminded that geopolitical stability remains a critical factor for the sustainability of the tourism sector.
“Tourism industries depend heavily on stability and global connectivity. When conflicts close international air routes, the impact is felt directly by the tourism ecosystem in various countries,” Yamin said.