CHENNAI: Escalating tensions in the Gulf following military strikes by the US and Israel on Iran have triggered a wave of cancellations from Tamil Nadu, with tour operators reporting a sharp slump during what is typically a peak holiday season.
T Devaki, chairperson of the southern region of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said business has dropped by nearly 50% as safety concerns, airspace disruptions and rising fuel surcharges push up airfares. “Gulf tourism has been hit significantly.
Connectivity has reduced, while fares on European carriers have increased due to limited seat availability,” she said, noting that Chennai travellers prefer direct departures rather than routing via Delhi or Mumbai.
Uncertainty over a wider regional fallout has led travellers to defer or cancel plans to the Gulf and Europe, hitting bookings across segments-from leisure tourists to students and corporate groups.
“This is the holiday season, and we had strong bookings lined up. But many have now been cancelled,” said Murugan Shanthakumar, director of Travel Iconz Private Ltd, estimating losses in crores. He added that disruptions have affected students travelling from Gulf countries such as Dubai and Qatar, along with family and corporate group bookings.
The slowdown has extended to Europe, where itineraries are often routed through Gulf hubs. “Last year, we did about Rs 1 crore worth of Europe business. This time it is less than Rs 10 lakh,” he said, underscoring the scale of the decline.
Rajeev Menon, a tour operator, said disruptions to Gulf hubs have hit budget travel routes hard. “I had full bookings for Turkey, Cyprus and Dubai packages. Now, all of them are lost,” he said.
With rising airfares and uncertainty, only about two in ten enquiries are converted into bookings, operators said.
Even as traditional routes falter, demand is shifting to destinations such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island has seen tour package costs rise to around Rs 50,000 from Rs 28,000 amid a surge in demand.
Shanthakumar says the downturn is significant, given the rapid growth of outbound travel among lower and middle-income groups in TN, as April is typically a key booking season.