Special Report: Operators monitor situation on ground in response to energy crisis

Tour operators say they are carefully monitoring the situation in the Middle East as the energy crisis threatens to disrupt tourism operations in resorts and client demand continues to shift to ‘safe’ destinations.

 

So far, operators have not reported any issues affecting clients on the ground despite widespread fuel shortages causing long queues at petrol stations or the decision by some destinations to close restaurants early to conserve power or encourage public transport use.

 

Egypt has already shortened opening hours of restaurants, shops and museums in response to the energy crisis linked to the war against Iran and closure of the Strait of Hormuz but has made tourist resorts exempt from the ruling, which lasts for one month from March 28.

 

Australia has made public transport free in Victoria and Tasmania to incentivise people not to drive while Kenya, Slovenia and Sri Lanka are among the destinations to have introduced fuel rationing, Mauritius has imposed restrictions to reduce wastage, and Vietnam is encouraging its citizens to stay at home to conserve fuel. Thailand has indicated it may have to introduce fuel rationing.

 

Monitoring impact in destinations

 

Martyn Sumners, executive director, The Specialist Travel Association (Aito), said its tour operator members were keeping a close eye on the impact of the energy crisis on tourism destinations.

 

He said: “Aito members are closely monitoring developments in the Middle East, while actively managing a complex and fast-moving situation to minimise any impact on clients and their own businesses.

 

“As the situation evolves, we will continue to assess what this may mean for our members, including any potential knock-on effects such as fuel supply pressures, transport limitations and disruption to local infrastructure and hospitality.”

 

Sam Clark, managing director of specialist operator Experience Travel Group, praised Sri Lanka’s decision to move “incredibly quickly” to put restrictions in place to ensure the country does not run out of fuel.

 

“They have already given allocations to tour operators to make sure we get enough fuel for our clients. They have been incredibly proactive. It’s been very reassuring from an operator point of view,” he said.

 

He added he was confident fuel shortages would not be an issue for the company’s tours in Sri Lanka up to the end of the season at the end of April.

 

"If it carries on into the summer then we will look at it again but we know we can operate all our holidays until the end of the season,” he said.

 

He added: “There are shortages for Thailand and Vietnam but again we are working closely with destination management companies and we’re confident holidays will all continue as normal even though there is panic buying.”

 

Kuoni said it was keeping on top of the situation in its destinations via its destination management companies in resort.

 

Managing director Mark Duguid said: “We have been reaching out and are in close communication with our DMCs, who are keeping a close eye on their side of the situation, making changes if needed and keeping us updated with the situation in resort. For the most part, once customers are on holiday there is very little change.

 

“We’ve recently had two members of our product team visiting Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and both report no issues or a change in their holidays.”

 

Shifting demand

 

While operators said they had yet to see the impact of fuel shortages on their ground operations, they continued to report shifting demand for destinations and said most clients were opting to rebook or amend rather than cancel.

 

Sumners hailed Aito operators for working hard to facilitate postponements to trips, reroute or offer alternatives instead of cancelling outright.

 

"In many cases, they are also negotiating with suppliers to allow clients to defer trips without financial penalty, which helps maintain confidence and goodwill on all sides,” he said.

 

Demand was shifting to destinations perceived as more stable such as parts of Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, he said, but also cited continued interest in travel to the Indian Ocean and Asia where alternative air routes could be arranged.

 

He reported “signs of stabilisation” in booking patterns among Aito members and an increase in last-minute bookings.

 

Cyprus has been widely cited as suffering a drop in demand as a result of the war but specialist Cyplon Holidays said that while new bookings had “stagnated”, existing bookings were “holding strong”.

 

Managing director Harry Hajipapas said: “In a small number of cases, clients are opting to move their trips to a later date, but overall demand remains steady. Egypt [also] continues to perform well for us, and here too we are seeing customers travel largely as normal.”

 

Tui reported British holidaymakers “ditching” complicated travel plans to opt for the western Mediterranean.

 

Company data revealed a “surge” in searches and bookings as customers opt for short-haul destinations in Spain, Italy and Portugal.