Southeast Asia’s peak tourist summer season is at risk as elevated jet fuel costs and ceasefire uncertainties prompt flight cancellations and higher ticket prices across the region, the Associated Press reported from Bangkok. Thailand and Vietnam, two of the most tourism-dependent economies in the region, face compounding strain as the war with Iran drives up global energy costs.
Tourism in Asia has yet to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered borders and devastated travel-dependent communities. Many countries now contend with the war’s repercussions for global energy supplies and prices, which have hit Asia first and hardest, according to the AP. Families are pulling back on travel as gasoline prices and grocery costs climb.
Crowds have thinned at some destinations once synonymous with international travel. In Siem Reap, home to Cambodia’s centuries-old Angkor Wat temple complex, workers who depend on visitor spending described mounting financial pressure.
“With gasoline prices rising and tourism declining, how can we make money?” Siv Pech, a 58-year-old tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, told the AP.
The pressures on Southeast Asia’s tourism sector represent a widening front in the economic fallout from the Iran war, which has disrupted energy supplies and driven fuel costs higher. Airlines have responded with flight reductions and fare increases as jet fuel prices remain elevated.
For countries where tourism accounts for a substantial share of economic output, the approaching summer season — typically the busiest travel period — carries high stakes. Workers in hospitality, transportation, and retail who depend on international visitors face the combined effects of a slow pandemic recovery, elevated energy prices, and consumer pullback.