Middle East Travel Went From ‘Total Panic’ to Recovery, Accor CEO Says

Hotel bookings in the Middle East are rebounding from an initial chill following the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, according to the head of Europe’s largest hospitality company.

“It was total panic in the month of October,” said Accor SA Chief Executive Officer Sébastien Bazin, speaking remotely at a forum in Dubai on Wednesday. “We thought it was going to be a debacle—certainly in Egypt and in North Africa and Morocco and so forth.”