The ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict has been having a devastating impact on the Middle East’s economy. The head of the IMF had previously dubbed the conflict as another dark cloud looming over an already bleak economic horizon, saying there would be a “negative impact on trade channels, tourism channels, cost of insurance.”

Just as predicted, the effects of the conflict now are trickling into the region’s travel sector.

Plane ticket purchases to Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon have nosedived as a result of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, according to travel analysis firm ForwardKeys.

The firm’s insights show tickets to Egypt have decreased by 26% year-on-year, to Jordan by 49%, and to Lebanon by 74%. 

Some global carriers have canceled flights, saying they would no longer fly to Israel for security reasons. The data showed tickets for future trips to the country dropped by 187% in October compared to last year.

Additionally, some airlines, including Lufthansa, Eurowings, and Swiss Air, suspended flights to Lebanon in mid-October.

Royal Jordanian CEO Samer Al Majali highlighted the high costs of diverting flights for security reasons, rising fuel costs, and declining international tourism at the 56th annual meeting of the Arab Air Carriers Organisation in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

“We are the closest country now to this recent event, and we’re quite negatively affected by all that’s going on,” he said.

Emirates has also suspended all its flights to and from Tel Aviv until the 14th of November 14 and is “closely monitoring the situation in Israel,” according to its website.

Meanwhile, the World Bank has also warned that oil prices could soar to $157 a barrel in the near term if the conflict in the Middle East escalates and results in a major disruption to crude supply.