Impacts of Terrorism on Global Events - Literature review Example

 Impacts of Terrorism on Global Events (3a) Case made for research Terrorism is a growing threat that affects all sectors of economy especially tourism industry. The September 11 attacks in the United States affected virtually every hospitality sector and organization of global events was especially hit the hardest. Any act of terrorism is direct affront to personal safety and security. In hospitality industry and tourism in particular, the safety of the destination is one of the major motivations for encouraging and attracting visitors. Therefore, it is important for hospitality industry to not only enhance the safety of their destination but also understand the adverse effects that terrorism could have on their business. (3b) Management issues involved The increasing terror threats demand the stakeholders to enforce pragmatic management measures of dealing with the vice. These include enforcing preventive strategies and mechanism of mitigating the ultimate outcomes of terrorism. This project focuses on the impacts of terrorism on global events. It informs the stakeholders of the extensive effects terrorism has had on the sector in the past. To address these effects, I have used secondary method of collecting data of past terror attacks targeting global events. I have examined the effects of terror attacks in 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, the attacks at International cricket tournaments in Pakistan in addition to the impacts of September 11 attacks on the attendance of the FIFA World Cup. From the data collected, analysed relevant themes pertinent to the study. (3c) Statement of the research question The impacts of terrorism on global events (3d) Aims and objective The aim of the study is to examine the effects of terrorism on global events. Objectives i. To examine the effects of terrorism on motivation of tourists attending global events ii. To examine the effects of terrorism on attendance at global events iii. To compare and contrast the effects of various terror attacks on the global events (4) Literature Review The magnitude of the September 11 terror attacks in the United States affected virtually all sectors on the global scale. Although different parts of the world had experienced other devastating attacks, the September 11 terror strikes were extraordinary because they were not only carried out in the territory of a global superpower but also by foreigners, who had previously gained entry into a sovereign state. The attack demonstrated the vulnerability of all countries to terrorism and the need to enforce preventive measures became apparent (Baxter and Downing, 2001). Since the attacks, immigration and movement of people across international borders is highly controlled and consequently, organisation of major global events such as sports and musical events were affected. (4a)Significance of hosting global events Events such as sports and music are increasingly becoming an important segment of tourism market (Yuan and McDonald, 1990). According to Bramwell (1998), countries across the world strive to organize global events in order to increase visitations in their countries, mitigate the seasonality of tourist visits and enhance the attractiveness of the destinations to tourism. In addition, organizing global event spurs development in the destination. The achievement of these goals depends on various factors but the numbers of people attending the events play a critical role (Sageman, 2004). Some of the major sport events that attract high number of people globally include FIFA world cup, Olympic Games, UEFA champions league games, formular 1 racing among others. In addition, music and concerts featuring popular artists such as Live 8 attract numerous audiences across the globe. (4b) History of terror attacks on global events Due to the large number of people that global events attract, terrorists are increasingly targeting them (Toohey, et al 2003). Prior to September 11 terror attacks in New York, the 1972 terrorist attack on Israeli team at the Munich Olympic is one of the deadliest terror attacks on a major global event. According to Drakos and Ali (2004), eleven Israeli athletes were killed in a botched attempt to rescue them from the terrorists. In 1996, a pipe bomb exploded during the summer Olympic Games in Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta killing two people and injuring over one hundred people (CTAWU, 1997). After the September 11 terror attacks, terrorists are increasingly targeting global events although improved security measures have prevented heavy casualties. In 2002, a terrorist bomb targeting audience at UEFA Champions League semi final match between Real Madrid and Barcelona injured seventeen people but fortunately, no deaths were reported (Fussey 2007). In 2006, a series of terror attacks by radical Islamic groups on Iraq sports teams killed about fifteen athletes and sports officials in the country (Fussey 2007). In 2009, terrorists attacked Sri Lankan cricket while on tour to Pakistan killing seven people. In 2010, terrorists attacked football fans watching 2010 FIFA world cup final match between Spain and Netherlands in Kampala killing over 70 people and injuring hundreds (Richards, et al 2010). Global events such as sports attract millions of people across the world that unfortunately makes them attractive targets for terrorists. (4c) Effects of terrorism on tourist motivations The impacts of terrorism on global events before and after September 11 portray a number of similarities and differences. Before examining the immediate effects of terrorist attacks on global events, it is important to evaluate the motivations that drive people to participate and attend these global events. According to Richards et al (2010), global sports and musical events are forms of sports tourism, a sector that is highly vulnerable to terrorism activities. The benefits of global events on the international tourism are mainly determined by their ability to attract large foreign audience. Media plays a critical role not only in attracting the audience but also in highlighting the available and diverse attractions of the destination to the potential travellers (Richards et al, 2010). According to Sageman (2004), the resulting publicity nurtures desire for the potential tourist to travel to the particular destination. Several factors motivate travelling of people to the destinations hosting global events such as sports and music. These motivations are divided into two categories, namely push and pull factors (Yoona and Uysalb 2005). According to Kim (2004), pull factors are motivations founded on the inherent beauty provided by the tourism destination. Push factors are not tangible and are socio-psychological motives that encourage people to travel and seek enjoyment in a particular activity or destination (Kim, 2004). Therefore, push factors are based on the interests, needs and motives of the traveller. Examples of pull factors include the historical and cultural attractions, safety, leisure activities, shopping and travel arrangements, convenience in addition to the provided facilities among other attractions. According to Kim (2004), pull motives could reinforce and stimulate the innate push factors. Some push motives include relaxation, desire to socialize, seeking knowledge, escaping from boring environment, travelling for prestige and novelty among other interests (Bramwell, 1998). Research studies on the push factors have yielded different findings on the various socio-physiological factors that motivate people to travel to global events and other destinations. Laqueur (2003) classified the push motives into five categories, namely travelling to seek knowledge, for prestige, for the improving human relations, novelty and for relaxation purposes. These push motives are closely related to Fussey (2007), who classified the motives into four categories namely intellectual, social, escape and competency motivations. Although researchers have established different push motives, the findings established the multidimensional nature of travellers’ motives. The frequency of attendance and the interest in a given event is determined by the motives of the fans (Fussey, 2007). Therefore, the high attendance at global events suggests the presence of diverse motives that are shared among different groups of people. Terrorism activities undermine both the pull and push motives of travellers and hence it has a profound impact on attendance of a given global event (Gnoth, 1997). (4d)Similarities and differences of the impacts of terrorism on global events Terror attacks before and after September 11 had various similarities. The immediate impact of terrorist attacks on any global event is undermining the safety of the audiences, fans, and the participants (Juliette, 2007). The terror attacks before and after the September 11 undermined the attractiveness of the destination and the resulting socio-psychological motives that had attracted people to the destination (Tausif, 2009). The loss of lives and the serious bodily injuries sustained by the participants discouraged many international travelling tourists from attending the events, preferring instead to watch the games and events on electronic medium such as television (Richards, et al 2010). The terror attacks on cricket teams in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have consistently prevented international teams from participating in cricket fixtures in the affected countries (Tausif, 2009). Following frequent terror attacks in Pakistan, the International Cricket Council (ICC) was compelled to reorganize cricket fixtures in terror prone countries after several visiting teams declined to honour the matches (Tausif, 2009). According to Kent and Thomas (1985), terrorist attacks reduce the number of tourist arrivals in countries with significant terror targets. In United States, September 11 attacks discouraged many American tourists from travelling to foreign countries for global events. Terror attacks before and after September 11 on global events heightened the tensions that existed between European countries and United States on one side against Islamic states on the other side. This created prejudice, and dislike between the participants of the conflicting parties at the global events, which undermined international understanding further (Kim, 2004). During the 1972 terror attacks at the Munich Olympics, Islamic radicals from radical Palestine movements targeted Israeli athletes for the alleged political conflicts that existed between Israeli and Palestine (Hacker, 1979). Following the attacks, the aggrieved countries established a massive crackdown of the terrorists’ network with an objective of eliminating future threats. Israeli security agencies launched an onslaught for all the suspected Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) members suspected to have participated in 1972 Munich Olympics. Similarly, in United States defence and security forces undertook heavy crackdown on the suspected al-Qaida militants Laqueur (2003). The crackdowns on suspected terrorists continue accelerating security threats across major global events up to date. Terror attacks have increased the costs of organizing global events considerably (Juliette 2007). Besides the reduced revenues from low international arrivals, terror attacks increased the need for investing more resources in advertising to attract larger numbers of international tourists to global events. Terror attacks targeting global events created the need of installing stringent and expensive security measures to prevent attackers. In addition, attacks increased the cost of repairing the damaged facilities (Baxter and Downing 2001). According Toohey et al (2003) countries have been compelled to install expensive security installations at airports and other points in response to the growing terrorism threats. Most insurance companies do not provide cover the risks associated with terror attacks and this has increased the cost of hosting global events further (Toohey et al 2003). The effects of terror attacks on global events before and after September 11 attacks differ in the magnitude and the resulting security precautions undertaken to guarantee security of the future events. According to Richards et al (2010), the post September 11 period witnessed a drastic reduction in the number of people attending FIFA world cup events. The FIFA World Cup tournaments in 2002 and 2006 were attended by an average of about 69,000 people. Before the September 11 attacks, the 1994 and 1998 FIFA world cup tournaments attracted an average of 87,000 people (FIFA, 2006). The magnitude of September 11 attacks discouraged many international travellers especially from United States from attending the events (Juliette, 2007). The September 11 attacks demonstrated that transport networks especially airlines were high profile targets for terrorists besides the global events (Drakos and Ali 2004). Terrorists not only use them to gain entry into targeted destination but also as weapon of executing their missions as demonstrated by the hijacked planes during September 11 attack. Therefore, to counter the threats of terrorism after September 11, security agencies implemented stringent measures to guarantee safety of attending tourists. Some of the measures included strict regulation of immigration and enhancement of security at airports and in the airplanes (Fussey 2007). The stringent security measures enhanced the safety of people attending global events but also discouraged unnecessary international travel to people who were unwilling to undergo the security checks. Previous terror attacks on global events did not elicit such extensive security measures and fears associated with air travel. Since September 11 terror attacks, organizing global events has become an extremely costly affair because of declining participants and the increasing security costs. 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