The Effect of Terrorism on Global Events - Dissertation Example

?4. Methodology To compare and contrasts the effect of terrorism on global events, the cities that hosted the Olympic Games in 1992 and 2000, ly Barcelona in Spain and Sidney in Australia respectively were examined. The growth of tourism industry of both cities one year before hosting the event and two years after the event was accessed. In this study, secondary methods of collecting data, obtained from International Olympic Committee (IOC), and tourism organizations from the two cities were applied. The data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to elucidate relevant themes of the study. Secondary research method was more appropriate because it provided sufficient historical data for comparison purposes. The hosting of the global event in these two cities corresponds to two critical periods in the history of terrorism. During the hosting of Olympic Games in Barcelona, there had been no major terror attack on global events for two decades, since 1972 attacks in Munich Olympic Games. However, prior to the hosting of Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, terrorists had bombed similar global event in Atlanta, United States in 1996. One year after Sidney hosted the games, September 11 terror attacks in New York occurred. 5. Discussions and research findings Global events are important components of tourism, an industry that is very vulnerable to terrorism and insecurity. Currently tourism is one of the most important economic activities in the world besides telecommunication and information technology. The importance of hosting global events is evidenced by the stiff competition the many countries wishing to host events face to secure the hosting rights. Some of the most popular global events include the Olympics and FIFA world cup among others. The large audience that the global events attract make them susceptible to various threats, including violence from the fans, terrorism and natural disasters. From the 1990s, terrorism has been the one of the major concerns for the events organizers and the sports managers. The 1972 terror attacks that targeted Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics and the pipe bomb that exploded in1996 during summer Olympics in Atlanta are just of some of the few attacks targeting global events. Since then, other global events have been targeted by terrorism including International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments in Asia, especially in Pakistan, UEFA champions league matches in Barcelona and the recent attacks in Kampala Uganda that targeted fans watching the finals of 2010 world cup finals in South Africa (Clark and Sophia 2008). Several research studies have been undertaken to investigate terrorism on global events, and one of the common findings is the insufficiency of security personnel training at venues in relation to those guarding against terror attacks. However, Appelbaum, et al (2005), argued that the unpredictable nature of terrorism and the conduct of attending fans present formidable difficulties in ensuring a secure environment at the venues. Therefore, it is imperative to enforce appropriate preparations, response and recovery measures to mitigate the effects of terrorism to the global events. There are various definitions of terrorism and Christopher (2000, p 52) defines it as “the illegal use of force or violence against people or property to threaten or coerce a government, the civilian population or any targeted sector in advancement of political or social objectives”. Terror attacks targeting global events and other civilian installations are normally well planned and organized. According to Christopher (2000), the objectives of terror attacks targeting areas with large number of people such as global events include inflicting the greatest amount of humiliation to the target and securing maximum publicity of the terrorist cause to the largest number of people in the world as possible. Moreover, terrorists who successfully launch attacks on the targeted areas mainly intend to gain credit or respect, compel the targeted population into agreement with their demands, and threaten other people with uncompromising stand against terrorists and as a provocation (Christopher 2000: 43-49). According to Walter (1998), launching terror attack appeals to the perpetrators because it provides an opportunity of harming and defeating the superior enemy, asserting the authority of terrorists in addition to attracting attention. Moreover, terrorist acts appeals to the perpetrators because they provide an opportunity of “achieving future order by wrecking havoc on the present “(Walter, 1998: 72). Several factors motivate a group of people or an individual into committing terrorist attacks. According to Atkinson and Young (2002), the major motivations include religious, racial, political, environmental and specific interests. For long period, terrorism has been motivated by religions factors. According to Christopher (2000:103) terrorists motivated by religion considerations are the most dangerous because they are fanatics, willing to take their lives in suicide terror attacks. Currently, terrorism motivated by religion is on an increasing trend. Walter (1998) noted that the number of religious motivated terror organizations increased from 1980 t0 1995 by 43 percent. The most active of these groups include Islamic extremists and militant groups, which mostly target Israeli and American interests in the world. Religious motivated terrorism imbues the followers with distorted interpretations of theological teachings with secular intentions, portraying them as divinely inspired, invincible guidance and as a responsibility that cannot be compromised (Walter, 1998). The teachings inculcate a fanatic following among the indoctrinated members, and they become willing to sacrifice their lives to launch terror attacks on a particular target. Appelbaum, et al (2005) noted that by 2004, over 50 percent of globally recognized terror organizations are motivated by religious factors. Suicide attacks are most common methods of launching religious motivated terrorism especially by Islamic militants. The targets for such attacks are normally religious organizations or societies, perceived to be enemies of the terror organization. In some situations, terrorists motivated by religious factors could be linked with nationalistic and ethnic causes. Examples of terror organizations with religious and nationalistic motives include Kashmir separatist organizations and Northern Ireland terror organizations (Appelbaum et al 2005). Religious motivated terrorism is not limited to Islamic groups and followers from other denominations, including Christians, Jews, Hindu and Sikhs among others commit the offence under the influence of distorted theological doctrine from the respective religion (Hronoick, 2006). Politically motivated terror organizations are concerned with certain ideologies involving the structure and the organization of communities or governments (Robinson and Gammon 2004). Christopher (2000) classified politically motivated terror groups into three categories, namely anarchists, left wing and the right wing organizations. The major distinguishing characteristic of right wing groups is their conservative nature toward the politics of a particular community or state. The majority of right wing terror organizations are inclined towards neo Nazism and fascism. In spite of the conservative inclination, right wing groups are revolutionary and they mostly aim at overthrowing the existing governing structures and replacing it with their appropriate forms of administration (Christopher, 2000). Revolutionary socialism and other forms of communism, such as Maoism, Marxism, and Leninism among others normally characterize left wing terror organizations (Walter, 1998). Currently these groups gravitate towards anarchism due to the downfall of communism and the gradual transformation of the existing communist countries to capitalism. Strong opposition to authority characterizes anarchist terror organizations, and hence they support personal freedom to associate with like-minded groups. According to Christopher (2000), anarchist terror groups are inclined towards communism and other populists ideals, with vehement opposition to capitalism. Anarchists indentify with the small communities and they advocate them as the most favourable forms of governance that should replace the highest political organization in a particular region. The target of terror attacks is usually symbolic of their motivation. Therefore, most terrorism attacks target areas of high symbolic importance, such as national airlines, venues of global events, religious institutions, banks and financial institutions, government installations and other targets with direct association with the recognized order that they seek to oppose or fight. In addition, terror groups could also attack organizations, which they attribute to advancing social injustice, or perpetuating economic and political exploitation or suppression (Walter, 1998). One of the emerging trends of global terrorism is the targeting of establishments that have the potential of causing greatest physical destruction and suffering. This trend became apparent in the September 11 terror attacks in New York that targeted world trade centre, and the Madrid bombing that aimed at destroying the subway train network in the Spanish city. These attacks killed many people and disrupted the affected areas because of the heavy infrastructural damage. Global events such as Olympics games are other significant targets for terrorism. 5(1) why terrorists target global events Global events are important terrorist targets because of the diverse people in attendance. The events attract alot of American organizations, which are regarded as the hallmark of capitalism (Appelbaum, et al 2005). Some of the companies include multinationals such as Coca Cola and the General Motors among others. To left wing and anarchist terror organization, these organizations are epitome of capitalism that is attributed to causing economic exploitation social injustice and other social economic problems affecting the globe. American interests attract high profile terror attacks by many extremist organizations. Walter (1998) attributes this trend to the fact that the country is the leading economic and military power in the globe in addition to being one of the most prominent democratic societies in the world. The widespread economic and political influence of the country in the world makes it one of the most attractive terrorist targets. Therefore organizing global events, which involves high profile targets such as United States has the potential of attracting terrorist. According to Walter (1998), terror organization considers United States as an economy susceptible to psychological effects and uncertain nature of terrorism. In the global arena, organizing mega events such as sports attract terror attacks because they are influenced by public opinion. Terrorism is one of the most influential instruments of swaying the public opinion because of the tremendous psychological impacts that it generates (Atkinson and Young 2002). Global events command widespread national and international media coverage in the world and this provides a favourable environment for terrorists to launch their attacks (Piazza, 2009). The exciting celebrations and spectacle provided in the global events attract millions of audience, some of whom could be offended by the display. To some terror organizations, the widespread coverage of the events is tantamount to spreading unacceptable ideologies to the conservative groups. Therefore, the events could be targeted to forestall the event. However, the widespread media attention that global events attract provides terrorist organization with an opportunity of gaining global recognition and their causes by capitalising on the psychological impacts (Atkinson and Young 2002). The large number of audience and fans attending global events provides an opportunity for causing the greatest number of casualties and heaviest destruction possible. According to Christopher (2000), terrorism is mainly psychological battle that uses violence and intimidation to achieve its objectives. By causing heavy casualties and destruction, terrorists succeed in their mission of inspiring fear to the largest population possible. In so doing they manage to influence the public and popular perceptions through the wide media coverage. Global events provide the perfect timing and platform that attracts mass media coverage which disseminate the information at optimum hours for maximum public consumption. Terrorism on global event has profound economic impacts on any economy. Besides the immediate impact of disrupting the normal economic activities, it causes heavy financial loses by destroying important infrastructure that takes time rebuilt, compensation claims and other related costs. In September 11 terror attacks in New York, Appelbaum et al (2005; 79) noted that the destruction of the world trade centre caused insurance claims totalling to about $40 billion. In addition, the telecommunication services in the lower Manhattan region were disrupted leading to the closure of New York stock exchange and NASDAQ. Moreover, the attack led to loss of $190billion two weeks after the attack because of the suspension of the trade in government securities at the world trade centre (Appelbaum, et al 2005; 96). Long-term effects of terrorism include discouraging foreign investments from venturing in the affected country. Global events form an important segment of tourism industry, which is one of the most negatively, affected by insecurity. Therefore, by targeting global events, terror organizations aspire to disrupt economic activity of the country and the region. Terrorist attack at a global event would definitely cause short-term and long-term economic effects to the host country and the ripple effect passed to other countries hoisting the event in future. The terrorists attack in 1972 Munich Olympic is one of the most devastating in the history of global events. Black September, the group that claimed responsibility of the attack ambushed the Olympic village and took hostage of eleven Israeli athletes hostage. However, a failed rescue attempt by the German security forces resulted to the death of the all the hostages and five terrorists (Cashman, 2002). In 1996, terrorists exploded a pipe bomb at the venue of Olympic games in Atlanta USA killing one person and wounding over one hundred people. According to Atkinson and Young (2002), the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France was held under imminent terror attacks by Armed Islamic Group (AIG), a prominent terrorist organization in Europe. The terror organization intended to halt the tournament by targeting the civilians and foreign attendants at the venue. However, their mission was disrupted by an editorial in the local dailies. Mega global events are attractive targets for terror organizations because they are relatively unsecured compared to other sensitive establishments. The contribution of global events to tourism industry cannot be overemphasized. One of the major contributions of hosting global events is the legacy effect that comes with the distinction of holding a world event successfully (ETOA, 2007). Besides holding a global event within a secure environment, the host country benefits by displaying its infrastructure to the global audience. This creates a substantial pool of tourists in future. ETOA (2007) estimated that by hosting the 2012 Olympics games in London, the tourism industry in the United Kingdom would generate revenue of over ?2 billion. The “enhanced media exposure” of the hosting global event attracts visitors for longer periods after the event is held (ETOA, 2007). Historically, global events have reported increased tourist arrivals in the host country before the event, during and after the events and the Olympic Games are not exceptions. Tourism industry is the only sector that benefits in all stages of hosting global events. 5(2) Analysis The impact of terrorism of terrorism on global events was investigated by evaluating the period before and after September 11 terror attacks in New York focusing on Barcelona and Sidney cities. In 1992, Barcelona held one of the most successful Olympic Games in the history. After the Olympic Games in the city, tourism activities in the city increased a factor Robinson and Gammon (2004) attributed to the legacy effect. From 1986 to 1993, hosting the Olympic Games in Spain generated revenues exceeding $16.6 billion. The development of tourism industry in the city since then have been on an upward trend, and currently it accounts to about 12% of Barcelona’s gross domestic product. Before the Olympics, revenues from tourism accounted for just below 2% of the city’s gross domestic product (Cashman, 2002). According to Cashman (2002), the hotel and hospitality industry of Barcelona has been growing, as witnessed by the increasing construction of hotels. At the eve of hosting the games, the bed capacity in hotels grew by 40% and it has been on an upward trend since then. For a period of ten years from 1992 to 2002, 75 hotels were constructed in the city increasing the available bed capacity further. From 1990 to 2001, overnight stays in the Barcelona’s hotels increased by over 110% (ETOA, 2007). Although the growth trends in tourism industry in the city cannot be attributed solely to hosting the Olympics games, it however played a critical role. In 2000, Olympic Games were held in Sidney Australia and the following year, terrorists attacked New York in September 11. In spite of positive tourist growth forecast in the country for four years after hosting the Olympic Games, Cashman (2002) noted that the industry has witnessed a fall in the number of tourists visiting the city and the country. Few months before hosting Olympic Games in Sydney, the hotel occupancy rates dropped from 84 percent in March to 74 percent in May. In July and August, the average bed occupancy was 68 percent. However, during the event, the bed occupancy rates increased to about 80 percent (ETOA, 2007). After the event, Cashman (2002) noted that the bed occupancy rates fell to 62 percent in December 2000. The city had invested in building more hotels but at the end of the year, the supply of hotels outstripped the demand. Three years after hosting the global event, tourist arrivals declined steadily in the country. Over ten hotels in Sidney were converted to residential houses after the Olympics because of the dismal tourist arrivals (ETOA, 2007). Various factors contributed to low tourists arrivals before and after the hosting of 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Although the games were held before September 11 terror attacks, the fears of terrorism, the outbreak, and the subsequent spread of SARS virus played a significant role in discouraging foreign travels in the country. The Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992 and Sydney in 2000 portray the effect of terrorism on tourist motivations. In the 1992 Olympics, there had been no large-scale terror attack in the world that had affected global travel as the September 11 attacks did. Therefore, in Barcelona Olympic Games, the global event managed to continue attracting global tourists because of pull motivations. The pull motives included the intangible social-psychological features, including relaxation that was enhanced by greater feeling of security (Gibson, 2003). In addition, the pull motives in Barcelona were enhanced by convenient travel and accommodation arrangements. This enabled tourists to explore various attractive and scenic sites in the country during the Olympics, which formed the basis of future visits. Conclusion The 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney were held after terrorists attacked several American interests in the world including 1998 embassy bombing in east Africa. Although the attacks in East Africa did not target a global event, it highlighted the vulnerability of all countries to terror attacks. Therefore, foreign travellers became increasingly cognizant of the security risk they faced especially in foreign countries. Being aware of the security risks associated with global events, potential travellers restrained from travelling and attending the events. Therefore, in spite of the publicity associated with Olympic Games, Sidney failed to impress foreign tourists due to the apparent fears of attacks. The motivation for tourist arrivals in Australia declined further after the September 11 terror attacks in New York (Hinch and Higham 2001). The terror attack inflicted a heavy psychological blow to tourists and it complicated air travel in virtually all countries in the world. This study compared and contrasted organization of Olympic Games in Barcelona and Sidney in 1992 and 2000 respectively with an objective of establishing how terrorism affects global events. The study has shown that terrorism has profound impact on global events because it interferes directly with motivations of tourists, travelling to attend the events. One of the major motivations affected by terrorism targeting global events is push motivation. Terrorism undermines security of the tourists attending the global events, which undermine their motivation irrespective of the attractiveness of the host destination. References Appelbaum, et al.(2005). Management of sport facilities: stress and terrorism since 9/11. Management Research News, 28(7):60-98. Atkinson, M., and Young, K.(2002). Terror games: Media treatment of security issues at the 2002 winter Olympic games. International Journal of Olympic Studies, 11: 50-79. Cashman, R.(2002).Impact of the games on Olympic host cities. Retrieved from http://ceo.uab.cat/lec/pdf/cashman.pdf[accessed on 30 November 2011]. Christopher, C. (2000). Terrorism today. London: Frank Cass Publishers. Clark, M., and Sophia, M. (2008). Mechanism of political radicalization: pathways toward terrorism. Terrorism and Political Violence 20(3):45-76. ETOA (European Tours Operators Association)(2007). 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