Ghana’s travel and tourism industry is confronting one of its sharpest demand shocks in years as the escalating Middle East conflict cripples the Accra to Dubai corridor, the country’s single most commercially significant international travel route.
Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest by international passenger volume, sustained significant damage to one of its terminals on Sunday March 1, 2026, after Iranian missile strikes hit the facility and the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel as part of Iran’s retaliatory operations following the US and Israeli strikes on Tehran. Emirates Airline is monitoring the evolving situation, with partial airspace closures affecting operations at Dubai International and Abu Dhabi International airports.
For Ghanaian travel agencies, the damage to Dubai is not an abstract geopolitical event. It is a direct threat to their core revenue. Andrew Ato Brakwah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CH Travel and Tours, confirmed that the company had dispatched a team to the Middle East just two weeks before the conflict erupted. “We have placed calls to all of them, and we can confirm they are safe in their various locations, including Dubai and Qatar,” he told The High Street Journal. The team remains in the region as airspace volatility makes immediate evacuation uncertain.
Brakwah described the psychological aftermath of the conflict as potentially more damaging than the physical disruption. “Even after the smoke clears and the conflict subsides, people will be skeptical about traveling to Dubai,” he said, warning of a prolonged crisis of confidence among Ghanaian travellers that could outlast the military phase of the conflict by months or years. Dubai has evolved into the top tourist and business destination for Ghanaians, anchoring the revenue model of many Accra-based ticketing and tour operators.
Key aviation hubs including Dubai International Airport, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Abu Dhabi International Airport, and Kuwait International Airport have all experienced temporary flight suspensions, airspace restrictions, or precautionary closures, disrupting not only Middle East travel but also long-haul routes connecting Europe to Asia that transit through Gulf hubs. Aviation insurance premiums have increased by 10 percent for most carriers operating in or near the Middle East, with rerouted flights around the conflict zone increasing fuel consumption and maintenance costs by 39 percent due to supply chain disruptions for parts. Those costs will eventually pass through to ticket prices.
The Ghana Black Queens women’s football team was among those stranded in the UAE following the crisis, according to Joy Sports. They are among thousands of Ghanaian nationals currently in the affected countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has activated an emergency preparedness plan and initiated the evacuation of a number of staff from Ghana’s Tehran embassy, while dedicated emergency consular contact lines for UAE nationals in Abu Dhabi and Dubai have been issued.
The conflict has complicated labour migration as well. CH Travel and Tours was preparing to recruit a new cohort for Middle East placements when the escalation began. Brakwah acknowledged that “family members are now likely to discourage their relations from traveling to Dubai and other such destinations out of fear,” making the sensitisation effort significantly harder. He called on UAE and regional destination authorities to mount a coordinated global public relations campaign to restore traveller confidence once stability returns, noting that without deliberate image recovery work, allied businesses including real estate, hospitality, and retail that depend on the Accra to Dubai corridor face a prolonged downturn.
Ghana’s travel sector had recovered strongly after the COVID-19 pandemic. A sustained Middle East crisis carries the risk of reversing those gains precisely when the industry had begun to rebuild route volumes, agency revenues, and consumer confidence.
