The price of a week in Dubai has dropped by a quarter this August compared with last year, as the war in Iran deters UK holidaymakers from travelling to the Middle East. An average all-inclusive seven-night family stay in the United Arab Emirates is now 25% cheaper, while Egypt is down 8%, according to TravelSupermarket data compiled for the BBC.
Tim and Natalie Harris from Swansea had booked a holiday to Dubai with their two teenage daughters this summer, but when the Iran war broke out they cancelled and lost their deposit. They managed to find a package for £6,400 for all-inclusive in Mexico instead. Last month, the Foreign Office dropped its advice against travelling to Dubai after the US and Iran reached an agreement to stop the war, but warned British citizens that 'the situation remains unpredictable' in the region.
“Dubai family holidays are 25% cheaper this summer as UK travellers avoid the Middle East due to the Iran war.”
Tour operators have cut prices to other destinations too – an average holiday to Morocco is down 6.5%, Tunisia down 2.5% and Turkey 1.6% cheaper than last summer. At the same time, package deals to Spain, Portugal and Greece are up between 3-5%. Mollie Hitchen, assistant manager of Marple Travel Hyde, says customers are more nervous this year about going anywhere near the Middle East, or getting stuck further afield because of fuel shortages. 'People will ask questions, but we just reassure people that there is absolutely no problems with those destinations,' she says.
Flora Badger, who contacted BBC Your Voice after watching prices fluctuate, is taking three teenage girls on their first holiday abroad this summer. She first considered booking in April to avoid the expensive summer months, but held off over the situation in the Middle East and fears of getting stuck abroad. She ended up booking to go to the Spanish island of Lanzarote in September. 'Price was a huge, huge issue,' she says. 'It's very frustrating how much it increases in the school holidays. At the end of the day they need a treat, we've been saving up for it, they've been looking forward to it, so we're planning on going.'
The steep price rises for European holidays may have slowed but they're still creeping up, TravelSupermarket data suggests. For families watching their budgets, the choice is increasingly between a cheaper long-haul trip to the Middle East or North Africa and a more expensive European package – with the shadow of war still shaping decisions.