Flight cancellations and travel warnings due to the war have caused heavy damage to the tourism industry in the Middle East. However, the impact of the conflict is not limited to this region.
Asian economies are most heavily affected by tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Countries such as India, China, Japan and many Southeast Asian countries are heavily dependent on oil imports through this important shipping route.
Currently, some famous tourist destinations have begun to apply measures to limit domestic fuel consumption.
Sri Lanka applies fuel purchase limits - but not applicable to hotels and travel agencies
Sri Lanka welcomed about 2.05 million international visitors in 2024, of which more than half came from Europe, including nearly 180,000 visitors from the UK and more than 135,000 from Germany, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Agency.
Due to the impact of the crisis, the country has applied a 4-day weekly working regime for non-essential state agencies, with Wednesdays being additional days off.
Fuel purchase limits have also been implemented. However, in a travel recommendation update to Sri Lanka, the British Foreign Office said "special mechanisms will be applied to travel companies and hotels to minimize disruptions to tourism activities".
Egypt shortens store and restaurant operating hours - but does not apply to tourist areas
Egypt recorded a booming tourism year in 2025 thanks to the opening of the Great Egyptian Museum, with 19 million international visitors, an increase of 20% over the same period, according to data from UN Tourism.
Currently, the UK's recommendation for Egypt remains unchanged, despite warnings that escalating tensions "can disrupt tourism and have unpredictable impacts". Tourists are advised to avoid the North Sinai area bordering the Gaza Strip and the border area with Libya.
From the end of March, Egypt changed the closing hours of stores, shopping centers and restaurants to reduce energy consumption. Specifically, these facilities will be closed at 9 pm weekly and 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays for a month from March 28. Due to the working week in Egypt lasting from Sunday to Thursday, later hours fall on weekend evenings.
However, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities affirmed that these measures "will not affect tourists, overall experience or service quality during stay.
Tourist areas such as Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Luxor, Aswan and Sharm El-Sheikh and restaurants serving tourists in Cairo are exempt from application.
Lack of fuel, taxis in Thailand operate limitedly
Thailand welcomed nearly 33 million international visitors in the past year, including about 41,000 visitors from the UK, 41,000 from Germany and 40,000 from Spain.
The fuel shortage makes tourists wait longer at Suvarnabhumi Airport - Bangkok's main airport - due to a sharp decrease in the number of taxis operating. Usually there are about 6,000 taxis serving the airport, but currently only about 2,500 vehicles are operating. Many drivers also do not want to take long trips for fear of running out of fuel.
For public transport, fuel prices are being controlled and transport units are required not to increase fares.
In addition, luxury hotels across Thailand are launching many strong discount programs to attract domestic tourists as the number of international visitors decreases due to air disruptions related to the Middle East conflict.
Promotions are being implemented amid the context of many airlines canceling flights related to the conflict in Iran, disrupting important tourist routes between Europe and Asia.
The Thai Ministry of Tourism is concerned that it will lose 596,000 tourists and 40.9 billion baht (1.29 billion USD) in revenue if the conflict lasts more than eight weeks.
