Tourism falls twenty per cent year-on-year as war disrupts long-haul routes
The March print: a 20.7 per cent decline from March 2025, driven by cancellations through Dubai, Doha and Istanbul.
Final figures for March show a 20.7 per cent year-on-year decline in international arrivals, the Ministry of Tourism confirmed on Wednesday — the steepest monthly fall since the early pandemic and a direct consequence of the Iran war.
Cancellations concentrated on transfers through Dubai, Doha and Istanbul; the closure of airspace over parts of the Gulf for much of the first fortnight compounded the effect.
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