Lee Hae-rin is a City Desk reporter at The Korea Times, covering social issues, tourism and taekwondo. She is passionate about speaking up for the rights of minorities, including women, LGBTQ+, people with disabilities and animals as well as discovering the latest makgeolli trend in town. Feel free to reach her at lhr@koreatimes.co.kr.
Middle East crisis prompts honeymooners, church groups to rethink trips
A passenger points to a canceled Dubai-bound flight on an electronic board in Incheon International Airport, March 1. Yonhap
By Lee Hae-rin
Gulf stopovers lose appeal as agencies scrap Dubai packages, waive cancellation fees
Koreans planning honeymoons, pilgrimages and long-awaited overseas trips are scrambling to revise their itineraries as the conflict in the Middle East shuts down key transit hubs and throws global aviation into turmoil.
For many engaged Korean couples, the crisis has hit hard. Over the past few years, Dubai has transformed from a mere layover into a standalone honeymoon hot spot for Koreans, marketed as “affordable luxury” and bundled with resort destinations like the Maldives and Mauritius.
Its appeal has grown with K-drama shoots, social media buzz over Dubai chocolate and visa-free entry for Korean travelers, helping push Korean arrivals up 225 percent in 2023 and another 51 percent in the first half of 2024, according to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.
That booming demand is now colliding with anxiety over war. Since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February, Iran’s retaliatory attacks have raised fears that major Middle Eastern cities could become targets, particularly after reports that United Arab Emirates air defenses intercepted missiles and drones near Dubai.
Key Middle Eastern air corridors have seen tens of thousands of flights canceled or rerouted, while industry tallies suggest around 25,000 cancellations across the region, according to Cirium aviation analytics.
An Emirates A380 passenger jet is parked at Incheon International Airport, March 4. The aircraft, which arrived from Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Feb. 28, was scheduled to depart for Dubai the next night, but the flight was canceled due to the Middle East crisis, leaving the plane stranded at Incheon. Yonhap
Korean travelers are feeling the turbulence in real time. On a major online community for engaged couples, nearly 200 posts have appeared since Feb. 28 asking whether to switch or postpone honeymoons that route through Dubai or Doha. Many write that they now spend evenings watching news updates, debating whether to give up on long-planned itineraries.
A 35-year-old bride-to-be surnamed Park, who booked a Dubai-Maldives honeymoon for November, said she is considering rerouting through Singapore due to worries that “even if the war ends, the mood there won’t feel like a honeymoon.”
The uncertainty extends beyond couples. Christian groups that had scheduled spring pilgrimages to Jerusalem are quietly postponing or canceling trips.
“This was supposed to be my once-in-a-lifetime Holy Land trip,” said a woman in her 60s who had planned a September pilgrimage. “But my children keep telling me, ‘Faith is important, but your safety comes first.’”
Domestic travel agencies are racing to keep pace with rapidly shifting sentiment.
Hana Tour, Modetour and other major agencies have moved to waive cancellation fees and offer full refunds on March departures to Middle East locations, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, even though those fees normally apply when trips are canceled within a month of departure.
“We decided to treat this almost like a natural disaster,” an industry insider said. “Customers are clearly anxious, and forcing penalties right now would damage trust far more than it would protect revenue.”
Another travel industry official said, “For countries under travel advisories, including Iran, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, we have effectively concluded that it is difficult to operate tour products for now,” adding, “Even if the war ends immediately, its impact will inevitably last for another two to three months.”
On March 8, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised its travel warning to Level 3, or “withdrawal recommended,” for seven Middle Eastern countries, advising Koreans to avoid nonessential travel.