Australia eases travel advice for GCC nations

Australia has eased its travel advice for four GCC countries following the signing of a peace deal by the US and Iran.

Travel advice for the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar has been lowered from Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ to Level 3 ‘Reconsider your need to travel’, Australia’s foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said.

She said that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had assessed the conditions in the four GCC countries and that the lower level was appropriate, despite the fact that the security situation across the Middle East could deteriorate rapidly with little warning.

“Level 3 remains a high threshold. We continue to urge Australians to postpone non-essential travel. ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ also means ‘reconsider your need to transit’.”

“If you need to transit these locations, stay as short a time as possible and eliminate unnecessary activities,” Wong said.

DFAT continues to advise ‘Do Not Travel’ to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen, and ‘Reconsider your need to travel’ to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump announced a peace agreement with Iran, raising hopes for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to normal shipping through the strategic waterway.

Last week Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline was considering a passenger protection insurance product for travellers affected by future regional conflicts.

Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airways has partnered with the emirate’s tourism authority to launch free medical travel insurance for international travellers flying to the UAE capital.

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• Alex Malouf: Riyadh Air takes off but now comes the hard part

This week Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said the first phase of the revamped Al Maktoum International Airport will open in 2032.

The $35 billion airport will be five times larger than Dubai International Airport, spanning 70 square kilometres and able to handle 12 million tonnes of cargo annually.

The Iran war, which began on February 28, was costing the Middle East at least $600 million a day in lost visitor spending, the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

Revenues at Oman’s luxury hotels dropped 12 percent year on year to OMR96 million ($250 million) by the end of April, government data showed.