New research from Irish travel insurance provider, JustCover, has revealed the scale of changes to longer-term travel plans of Irish holidaymakers because of conflict and uncertainty in the Middle East.
The JustCover survey explored the top choice holiday destinations for Irish adults for the year ahead. Whilst 7% of respondents said they had considered a holiday to the Gulf region (before the outbreak of war), a significantly higher number – 29% of Irish holidaymakers – had planned a long-haul trip this year to a country that would usually involve having a stop-over in the Gulf for a connecting flight (destinations including Japan, East Asia, The Pacific, Australia and New Zealand).
Over the last two weeks, JustCover has offered added flexibility, where travel plans may originally have involved flying over, or getting connecting flights in, the region.
For people re-thinking their choice holiday destinations for 2026, JustCover’s data reveals that Southern Europe remains the top choice for an overseas holiday this year (45%), with an uptick in the percentage of people now considering a break in northern Europe (24%), whilst 21% are considering the merits of The Caribbean (21%) as a holiday destination.
Peter Clark, Director at JustCover Travel Insurance comments: “Our thoughts at this moment are with those families with loved ones stuck in the Middle East and we strongly recommend anyone with booked travel plans to check the latest Department of Foreign Affairs travel advice for their destination and stop-overs before they travel.”
“Looking beyond the serious and immediate travel challenges, there is also a longer-term consideration for Irish people that were planning or have booked a holiday for later in the year – to South east Asia, Japan or Australia, which may have involved a stop-over in the Gulf for a connecting flight. There are probably a lot of people right now thinking about their Easter or Summer holiday and whether they will re-book, re-plan their flight through a different route, cancel, or consider alternative holiday destinations”
