How big is the impact of the Middle East war on global travel?

Days of back-and-forth strikes by the US and Iran have shaken the Middle East. The interim deal to end the conflict is in tatters. Now there are fears the region could tip back into all-out war.

Missile alert warnings sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait early Wednesday as they faced incoming Iranian fire — a daily occurrence in recent days. Jordan said it shot down three incoming Iranian missiles.

Iran claimed attacks on the three nations, all of which host US forces. One of the first industries to feel the impact is travel.

"The impact on travel has been global, even though it's been a regional conflict, primarily because of the fact that Middle Eastern location of the conflict is a significant air corridor for aircraft flying across the world," explains Anita Mendiratta, a global tourism and aviation adviser.

"About 30 to 40% of global air traffic goes through that corridor."

The renewed fighting comes as much of the northern hemisphere is taking summer holidays.

According to Mendiratta, tourists have been forced to change plans. "Travelers are not stopping traveling, they're simply changing where they are traveling to and how they are traveling," she says.

"People are continuing to demand to go on holiday, are needing to go holiday. They're just making decisions that allow for more confidence. And that means closer to home, quite honestly." Mendiratta says Europeans are opting to holiday within the continent rather than take a long-haul flight to Asia.

More expensive kerosene

Another impact of the conflict is the rising oil price, which has a knock-on effect on the cost of jet fuel.

The price for Brent crude oil, the international standard, traded above $85 a barrel on Wednesday — more than 15% higher than the price before the war, but still well below the nearly $120 reached at the height of the conflict.

The price rises mean that when the conflict does end, global travel won't immediately bounce back to the pre-war state.

"What we are seeing is that even if the military conflict ends and all is peaceful, the collateral damage is going to take us into the end of the year because we know we have severe issues around jet fuel supply," she says.