At least, a look at the offerings of Ukrainian tour operators confirms that the war is popularizing Middle East resorts and swimming in the Persian Gulf among those who favor an elevated adrenaline level in their blood.
At first, when calling Kyiv travel agencies to ask whether Ukrainians are currently going to Egypt and the UAE, I felt somewhat shocked. It turns out that nothing stops the Ukrainian tourist: neither the rocket-and-bomb shelling of Baghdad, nor military patrols on the streets of Egyptian resorts, nor a possible negative scenario for the development of events in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region. And to my question of whether Ukrainians are going and want to go to the same Egypt or the UAE, Tetiana, manager of the tour company «Soul», replied: «Yes. Strange as it may seem, the military operation has not changed the situation on Ukraine’s tourist market.» True, the company does not take responsibility for the safety of tourists, since it is, so to speak, the business of the Ukrainian state to find the tourist and evacuate him home.
The companies «MIBS» and «Gamalia» operate regular charter flights to Egypt and have reliable partners on the ground. These firms are convinced that in the event of an escalation they will be able to evacuate their tourists in a timely manner. At the same time, managers admit that they find it difficult to understand people who are currently traveling to a region in close proximity to the combat zone. I think, taught by the Soviet experience of «maybe it will blow over!», hardened by hot news from hot spots, our fellow citizens simply prefer to exchange the gray everyday life in Kyiv for an «adrenaline-boosted» vacation somewhere in Egypt or the UAE.