Kazakhs’ favorite outbound tourism destinations—Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE and the capital of Qatar, Doha—became unavailable overnight after the war between the United States and Israel began with Iran. Firstly, the skies over Iran, through which air routes from Kazakhstan to the countries of the Middle East pass, were closed due to military operations. Secondly, the UAE and Qatar themselves were attacked by Iran, which completely stopped air traffic with these countries.
The head of the Touristik Kamkor Foundation, Inna Rey, says that Kazakhstan has banned its airlines from flying to the Middle East since February 28, but completely evacuated all its tourists from the UAE and Qatar only by March 10. And this is more than 8.5 thousand people.
— Such a long waiting period was mainly due to the fact that the well-known Kazakh airline took a very long time to rebuild its activities. It took a very long time to decide how they would take tourists out,” said Inna Rey.
The general director of a Kazakh tour operator specializing in organizing trips to the countries of the Middle East, Adil Aliyev, said that when the United Arab Emirates and Qatar suddenly stopped accepting tourists and closed the sky, the main task was to ensure the safety of Kazakh citizens.
He noted that tour operators, when evacuating Kazakhstanis from the countries of the Middle East, received support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassies, and the Kamkor Foundation. But in some cases, tour operators, at their own expense, accommodated, transported, or ordered charter flights to transport their tourists.
From then until now, it has been impossible to officially buy a tour to the UAE and Qatar from Kazakhstan, since until the notification of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kamkor Foundation does not have the right to issue travel codes. Now that a truce has been declared, some Kazakhstanis visit the UAE at their own risk, buying plane tickets on their own and making hotel reservations through online services. However, if the situation worsens, it will not be possible to return to the country using a tourist code and there is a possibility of getting stuck there, because you won’t even contact a tour operator when you bought tickets on your own.
In a situation where popular destinations – the UAE and Qatar – are closed, Kazakhstanis, in search of sea shores and sandy beaches, rushed to the countries of Southeast Asia.
The head of the tour operator, Anna Zagoruiko, said that in the spring of 2026, trips to Southeast Asia were most often sold.
— We are, of course, seeing an increase in demand in Southeast Asia. Of course, there are some points that in East Asia, the hotel stock is probably not so large. And accordingly, already in the original we see a rather serious shortage and frequent non-confirmation of applications. In principle, this is not so difficult to find in Thailand now. But we definitely see that demand is moving there. But those countries that are open – both Egypt and Türkiye – continue to be leaders. Seasonal destinations to Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria, and Montenegro will open soon, and we expect interest in them,” she said.
— I would like to add that the Maldives, in turn, has also doubled the volume of transportation and is such a main destination. Our demand is very good. Georgia is also interesting,” said Altay Omarov, director of another tour operator.
But Kazakhstanis are limited to not only popular destinations when choosing a place for their summer vacation. Kazakhstanis today have access to such seemingly exotic destinations as a cruise to the North or South Pole of the Earth; destinations such as Romania, South Korea, Azerbaijan look promising; tours to Japan, medical and other tourism to China and India are beginning to gain popularity.
The Minister of Tourism of the Indian state of Goa, Rohan Khaunte, says that the situation in the Middle East unwittingly “helped” the Indian authorities in promoting their resorts and had a positive impact on the flow of tourists.
— In the first three months of 2026, 7 thousand tourists from Kazakhstan visited Goa. Previously, when people flew to Goa, they would hold a conference or a wedding with us, after which they would fly to Dubai. And now people come and stay in Goa for the entire vacation. We, on the part of the government, ensure the sanitary and epidemiological safety of tourists, including their personal safety and reliability. The number of tourists in Goa is increasing year by year, said Rohan Khaunte.
According to tour operators, the availability of direct flights today is becoming one of the key factors for Kazakh tourists when choosing a tour, because the cost of air tickets is a significant part when purchasing a trip to a foreign holiday. For example, three airlines operate charter flights from Kazakhstan to Goa; there are also regular routes, and a visa to visit Goa can be obtained either online or upon arrival.
Tour operators said that this coming summer, sea trips abroad may become more expensive not only because of the seasonal increase in demand. According to forecasts, the aforementioned conflict in the Middle East will also play a role, namely the ongoing blockade of the vital route for global oil supplies in the Strait of Hormuz, due to which the likelihood of a shortage of jet fuel is increasing every day.
True, there is good news. The increase in tariffs from airlines smooths out the strengthening of the tenge. In addition, the presence of a fuel surcharge and a constant price from hotels play a positive role.
In general, according to statistics from participants in the tourism business, Kazakhstanis, if finances allow, do not refuse a well-deserved vacation abroad.
Tour operators do not see a decline in sales, and even the forced redistribution of vacationers from Dubai to Vietnam and other countries is not becoming a problem.
True, some principled tourists are still not ready to exchange the sunset views from Palm Jumeirah for the beaches of Nha Trang and are waiting for the resumption of sales of tours to the UAE and Qatar.
— Each destination has its own tourist. And each direction is individual in its own way. Those tourists who liked to relax in the east will definitely fly here, Adil Aliyev is sure.
As we see, in the summer of 2026, for Kazakhstanis who want to relax by the sea, there are many options for every taste and wallet size. Unlike 2020, when restrictions were imposed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, borders are now open and there are only temporary restrictions on flights to some countries. This means that the choice is up to vacationers.
