Demonstrations, bloodshed, tanks and helicopters characterize the scenes of news broadcasts in most of the protest-stricken nations of the Middle East. As civil strikes spread throughout these foreign territories, charming tourist destinations have rapidly evolved into combat zones and travel excursions are facing the collateral consequences.
First seizing news headlines and later contributing to the burgeoning gas prices, international protests have now left summer trips on the verge of cancellation. Their repercussions appear unavoidable, even on a local basis.
For junior Amanda Baker, the unrest has shaken her yearlong hopes of venturing abroad over the summer.
“I am planning to go to Dhaka, Bangladesh for a friend’s wedding in mid-August,” said Baker. “But because my flight has to stop in Qatar, my parents have gotten nervous about sending me.”
Senior Farhan Khan, who will be traveling a similar route, also considered the dilemmas of passing through destabilizing areas.
“We were worried that the flights from Qatar would get canceled,” said Khan. “The protests altogether have made me feel unsafe.”
In mid-January, countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States first issued travel warnings against non-essential travel to Tunisia as turbulence stretched to Tunis and other cities. Student vacations that pass through or land in Middle East have been subject to postponement or cancellation for months on end. The bite of the revolutionary disorder is more apparent now than ever before.
“In Egypt, tourism is their number one industry, which is unfortunate because tourism is certainly decreasing in the Middle East,” said history and political science teacher Mr. Kuhn.
Just last year, the Middle East served as the fastest growing travel market in the world, reaching a 14% jump in visitors, according to BBC News. Recently, tourism has become a victim of the region’s own turmoil.
“As of now, the trip is still on, but it’s all subject to what is going on in the Middle East, up until the time I leave,” said Baker.
Junior Maryam Ekbatani had planned to visit family in Tehran, Iran, but has since reconsidered the trip after acknowledging various inconveniences she may have to encounter.
“We would not have been able to go in the cities and into places we had gone on our previous trip to Iran in 2004,” said Ekbatani. “We would have been restricted in activities and probably confined to the houses of relatives.”
If the protests carry on, traveling families and students may opt to spend their summer in Turkey or other Mediterranean destinations such as Spain, which had previously lost share to these less expensive, non-euro zone countries.
“I would suggest that students consult their relatives residing in the country they’d be visiting,” said Mr. Kuhn. Destinations that guarantee political stability may, in the end, be the only safe getaway for an undisturbed summer.