Croatia Airlines has warned of shorter booking windows and a shift in travel patterns amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Speaking at the ERA Regional Airline Conference in Belgrade yesterday, Croatia Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer, Slaven Žabo, said, “From our perspective, what we have noticed is that booking windows are shortening. In many ways, this resembles the situation in 2021 and 2022, when a large share of bookings were made at the last minute. People are hesitant to confirm their travel plans. While there is strong interest in travelling and exploring different destinations, bookings are being made much later than usual. It is also expected that Europeans will increasingly travel within the continent, while destinations such as Croatia may feel the absence of passengers arriving from Asia and the United States as well”.

Maja Marciniak, Chief Economist at IATA, echoed that sentiment at the conference, “Our expectation is that more European travellers will remain within Europe, while a weaker dollar and shifting geopolitical dynamics could discourage US visitors to travel to the continent. At the same time, there may be fewer Asian tourists visiting Europe due to ongoing travel challenges and the outcome of the Middle East conflict, which could also have a broader impact on airfares”.