Spain tourism surges as Europeans opt for safer holidays amid Middle East conflict

Spain is seeing a surge in European tourists as conflict in the Middle East prompts travelers to opt for closer and safer destinations.

With Easter holiday underway, Palma de Mallorca airport has been packed with visitors who abandoned plans for trips eastward. Hostilities triggered by Israeli‑U.S. strikes on Iran have forced major airports across the Middle East to cancel or delay flights, severely disrupting aviation and tourism in the region.

"We were thinking about going to Dubai, but because of the war, there was no option, so we came here to Mallorca," said a traveler named Michelle, who works as a kindergarten teacher.

"We thought about going to Thailand, but I see the flights were disrupted and they said there were drones and things like that, so we thought Spain may be a safer option," another traveler Ross McGrego said.

"The situation in the Middle East is a little bit too unstable for my holiday plans," said traveler Rose Danaher, a rabies specialist nurse with the UK Health Services Agency.

The influx has brought new opportunities for local businesses. Local restaurant owner in Mallorca Victoria Amoros opened her second restaurant just days ago.

"50,000 people extra are flying to Mallorca. These people were supposed to fly to the Middle East and they are rerouted to Mallorca. I don't know how we are going to handle that, but we will receive them with love," said Amoros, owner of La Malvasia Restaurant Chain.

Chris Pomeroy, the global head of tourism of international communications group Hopscotch said people all over the world are choosing to holiday closer to home.

"So, 14 percent of international travel goes through the Middle East, it's a connectivity issue. So, when these bridges are down, the logical effect is that people will stay in their hemisphere. We say in tourism that when in times of conflict, investors turn to gold, and in times of conflict, tour operators turn to Spain," he said.

Spain welcomed a record 97 million foreign tourists in 2025, and industry experts say the figure could surpass 100 million this year. With Middle East routes disrupted, Spain's role as Europe's fallback destination is set to grow even further.

Spain tourism surges as Europeans opt for safer holidays amid Middle East conflict

Spain tourism surges as Europeans opt for safer holidays amid Middle East conflict

International cruise ships brought more than 8,000 tourists to Shanghai over the past weekend, underscoring the growing momentum of the city's tourism market.

Last Saturday, two cruise ships, the Spectrum of the Seas and Mein Schiff 6, arrived in Shanghai with nearly 6,000 tourists, setting a new single day record for daily inbound arrivals at the city's Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal.

Two more ships, the MSC Magnifica and Adora Magic City, arrived the next day, docking alongside Mein Schiff 6. For the first time this year, the terminal received three cruise ships docked simultaneously.

Impressed by China's customs services, tourists shared their feelings after landing.

"The service is very good, very fast. Everything is very quick," said a tourist.

"We're going to Disneyland. It's a cool trip," another tourist expressed her expectations.

During the two-day period, Shanghai port handled more than 20,000 passenger entries and exits, more than half of which were made by international travelers. Over 90 percent of them are benefiting from the visa-free policies.

"[I traveled from] Chengdu to here. I'm here to Beijing and Beijing to the UK," a tourist talked about his schedule, whose destinations in China all covered in the visa-free policies.

"Very good, excellent policy, and anything that reduces the amount of time. We had a week in ten days in China already, then we're gonna come back into the city to do some shopping," another senior visitor said.

Authorities have also introduced measures to improve the visa process.

"To ensure a smooth entry, officials will get on the ships in advance to perform inspections. So, passengers can start their trips as soon as they disembark. While at the airports, we have also provided an online submission system for arrival cards. That will also save their time," said Zhu Xiaoxiang, Deputy Director of Immigration Inspection Division under Shanghai General Station of Immigration Inspection.

So far this year, Shanghai's customs and immigration agents have processed more than ten million visitors, with 305,000 international passenger trips through cruise terminals, marking a prosperous tourism market.

Over 8,000 cruise passengers touch down in Shanghai, providing major tourism boost