Starting May 1, 2026, due to the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea, ocean freight costs on the Asia-Europe route have increased significantly, which has already been passed on to intercontinental cultural and tourism charter flights originating from Zhengzhou. International segment prices for study tours to Europe and the United States have increased by an average of 12%–18%. Sub-sectors such as cultural and tourism operations, study tour services, outbound travel agencies, and cross-border supply chain services need to pay close attention to this structural change in costs and its subsequent transmission rate.

Event Overview

According to a report released by Drewry Shipping Consulting on April 30, 2024, the freight rate for 40HQ containers on the Asia-Europe route increased by 29% month-on-month due to the ongoing conflict in the Red Sea. Coupled with fuel surcharges and peak season surcharges, the combined cost of ground and international segments for intercontinental cultural and tourism charter flights originating from Zhengzhou has increased by 12%–18% compared to the average level in April 2024. This cost change is clearly reflected in the quotations for study tour groups to Europe and the United States signed from May 2026 onwards.

Which sub-sectors will be affected?

Outbound travel agencies (including study tour service providers)

Because international transportation costs are directly included in tour fees, the pricing power of these products is under pressure. The main impacts are: shorter quote cycles, narrower profit margins, and increased customer bargaining power; some small and medium-sized agencies may face pressure to cancel or reschedule orders.

Cultural tourism charter flight operators and ground service integrators

As the actual implementer of intercontinental cultural and tourism products, it needs to simultaneously bear the procurement costs of international flight segments and local connection costs. The main impacts are: increased difficulty in renegotiation of charter agreements, upfront costs for reserving ground resources, and increased exposure to exchange rate and fuel volatility risks.

Cross-border education service providers (university partners, third-party study tour providers)

Although it does not directly purchase transportation capacity, its curriculum design, itinerary arrangement, and budget application are highly dependent on the stability of travel agency quotes. The main impacts are: increased risk of annual project budget overruns, longer school approval processes, and increased frequency of customized itinerary adjustments.

Supply chain service companies (including international ticketing agents, visa collaboration platforms, and overseas ground handling SaaS service providers)

Their service fees are mostly linked to the size of the tour group or the output value of a single tour. The main impacts are: a decrease in the departure rate of small and medium-sized tour groups may weaken order density, and B-end customers have higher requirements for payment terms and revenue sharing flexibility.

What key areas should relevant enterprises or practitioners focus on, and how should they respond at present?

Follow up on monthly updates from Drewry and other third-party organizations regarding freight rates on the Red Sea route.

The current freight rate increase is based on data from the April 30 report. Whether it will continue or spread to other routes (such as the capacity shortage of alternative routes with stopovers in the Middle East) will depend on the updated report in mid-to-late May. It is recommended to subscribe to public briefings on platforms such as Drewry and Xeneta to avoid relying on a single source of information.

Differentiating cost sensitivity differences among different destinations in Europe and America

Analysis shows that tour groups to the US often use direct charter flights, resulting in a higher proportion of international segment costs; tour groups to Europe that transit through the Middle East or North Africa are more susceptible to Red Sea-related detours; currently, it is more important to pay attention to the cabin premium levels of high-frequency departure hubs such as the US East Coast, Frankfurt in Germany, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Initiate communication and terms confirmation with clients who have already signed contracts in May or June.

For tour groups that have signed contracts in May 2026 but have not yet paid in full, it is recommended to conduct written explanations and negotiations on supplementary agreements based on the "force majeure" and "significant cost changes" clauses in the contract; avoid making last-minute adjustments within 72 hours before departure to reduce the risk of performance disputes.

Assess the flexibility of ground segment resource scheduling

Observations suggest that rising costs for international flights may prompt some agencies to reduce the number of days spent abroad and increase domestic distribution links; consequently, the minimum order quantity (MOQ) and the ability to respond to additional orders for local ground service providers in Zhengzhou, such as transportation, accommodation, and insurance, need to be reassessed.

Editor's Viewpoint / Industry Observation

From an industry perspective, this cost increase is not an isolated price fluctuation, but rather an early signal of geopolitical risks being transmitted to the vertical supply chain of the cultural tourism industry. It's more like a structural stress test—examining companies' dependence on international transportation capacity, the maturity of cost-passing mechanisms, and the efficiency of cross-segment collaboration. The fact that there haven't been large-scale cancellations or suspensions of tours yet indicates that the industry as a whole is still in the early stages of adaptive adjustment; however, if the situation in the Red Ocean does not ease after June, coupled with the summer travel peak, the impact may extend from pricing to tour availability and product structure.

In conclusion, this freight cost transmission reflects the real disruption to the international supply chain of the cultural and tourism industry caused by geopolitical risks, rather than short-term market fluctuations. It is more appropriate to understand this as the starting point, not the end point, of a cost structure reassessment. Related industry players should focus on "stabilizing existing assets, adjusting structure, and strengthening collaboration," avoiding reliance solely on price strategies and shifting towards improving the flexibility of resource allocation and the granularity of contract management.

Information Source Explanation: The main information source is the Asia-Europe freight rate monitoring report released by Drewry Shipping Consulting on April 30, 2024.
The following aspects require continued observation: the duration of the Red Sea conflict, the actual detour time and additional costs of alternative routes, and whether charter airlines originating from Zhengzhou will issue a new round of fare adjustment announcements.