Tourism Policy Planning - Essay Example

Name Professor`s name Course title University Date When the tourists visit any nation across the globe, they bring with themselves several goodies especially the foreign exchange to the host nations. Millions in their numbers, the tourists visit many destinations across the world especially the nations in Africa to view the globally reckoned flora and fauna. In the African continent, many tourists have been established to prefer the countries that border the oceans with currents so that they can enjoy the sunny sandy beaches. Countries such as Tunisia, morocco, Kenya, south Africa and Egypt are some of the preferred countries by the European and American tourists since in their countries winter is prevalent. Figure: A map showing Location of Kenya in East Africa The advent of the terrorism since the early 1990s, has really damaged the world`s leading industry that has employed several millions of people both directly and indirectly. However the host nations and the whole world in general have tried to combat the issue of terrorism but very less has been achieved even by the very developed world nations such as the America and England. We have always heard from the media outlets through out the globe how various terrorist attacks have left several dozens of persons dead at times several thousands as it was the of the 9/11 attacks on the American soil. Terrorist attacks leave behind huge losses and massive loss of human lives. Focusing on the African continent , the al Qaeda and its affiliated networks have since launched deadly attacks on various touristic destinations such as those in Egypt, Tunisia, morocco and Kenya which have resulted in massive lose of life and property with the end result being massive withdraw of tourist from the host nation. Our major country of discussion will be Kenya and we shall look into details how its tourism industry has been damaged by the acts of terrorism launched by the al Qaeda and al shabab based in Somalia. The al shabab, an al Qaeda affiliate, has curved itself into a monster that has installed great fear on the country`s populations and almost crippled the county`s tourism sector. Al shabab is a terror organization based in Somalia which is the next door neighbor of Kenya to the northeaster border. This particular organization pledged its alliance to he global al Qaeda network and henceforth focused its jihad activities both locally and internationally. There are several factors which have established to link terrorism and tourism. There are three major factors which are economic, social factors and finally the political factors which connect the two realms. Economic factors The Kenya government accused the terror organization, the al shabab, of kidnapping tourists on the Kenyan soil and later demanding ransom for their release. They sought he sum of money so that the kidnapped tourist could be released. The al shabab denied its involvement but several high profile security experts within western sources indicated the kidnappings were all carried out by al shabab so as to raise money paid to them ransom for their jihad activities. The Kenyan retaliated by sending it troops in thousands to fight the terror gang but the result of incursion into Somalia territory were disastrous, in early days of invasion into Somalia, there was no immediate effects on the tourism sector. However almost two years since the invasion of Somalia by Kenyan forces, the tourism sector on the costal areas was almost totally crippled. The hotels were empty. Both local and foreign tourist avoided the costal destination, Reason? They all feared the marauding al shabab militants. Several western governments warned their citizens against visiting the horn of Africa nation. The tourists simply kept off the nation. Hotels remained empty, many jobs were lost. The al shabab had begun winning a part of the war. Many Kenya began getting worried about the empty sandy beaches which earned them several billions, some proposed withdraw of their military forces from Somalia, it was never the case. They had to continue experiencing the real effects of war with the Somali militants. Chefs, drivers, fresh produce traders and other sorts of jobs were lost; everybody felt the heat of terrorism. Thereafter the al shabab launched heavier attacks against the non-locals in the cost areas who earlier promoted the culture diversity which promoted tourism. The al shabab and created their own buffer zone in Kenyan territory. The Kenya forces fought in Somalia, the al shabab fought in Kenya. The Mpeketoni brought the real reality to the world in general. Non locals were no longer wanted in the coastal areas, therefore the tourists totally avoided the beaches and they opted for upcountry touristic destinations. It can be noted that since the Kikambala attacks against the Israeli tourists in the year 2002, the trend against the tourists is ever growing and it should be our duty safe guard the sector from crippling. However the sector stared gaining again since the year 2014 and European tourist started arriving in large numbers. Figure: A map showing Islamist controlled areas of Somalia Social factors The social way of the different communities differ in many different ways. The culture of the Arabs is total different form the culture of the Europeans. The way of life of the Indians is too different from the way of life of the Africans. For example the Indians regard the animal cow as special and cannot be slaughtered for food as it is the case for the African communities which view the cows as a source of food. It should be understood that a certain culture may be deemed as offensive to another group of persons. We see how various religious extremists especially those professing the Islamic faith view the Christian culture as sinful and should be totally avoided. The Islamic extremists have tried to impose a way of life that is dictated by the Sharia laws which christens on their hand view as outdated and everybody should avoid. We note t how the two ways of life are crushing. The religious groups which are Islamic and Christianity both are present at the Kenyan coastal touristic destination. Each group has been established to impose their own way of life. The Christian way of life is he one that is majority accepted but the Islamic extremists have always advocated the use of violence to spread their heinous outdated gospel. It should be noted that tourist will always avoid touristic destinations with tight and harsh laws. The al shabab want to establish an Islamic caliphate within Kenyan territory. This dream will certainly scare away the tourists. The al shabab have deemed the way of life lead by the tourist is sinful and that the western education is sinful. The Boko Haram in Nigeria, the ISIS in Syria all share same ideology which is totally avoiding the modern western values. All these terror groups advocate the use of all means such as public executions to instill fear in people so that they can abide by their gospel. It is beyond reasonable doubt that the majority of the tourists who visits Kenya are Christians and they would like to lead a Christian way of life. When such tourists are forced to lead an Islamic way of life while on holiday in Kenya, then they will all avoid the Kenyan touristic destinations and opt for somewhere else. The kind of clothing employed by the tourists is totally regarded as evil by the Somali militants who have recruited among the native coastal communities. They have sleeper cells with the coastal belt. In a sober society no body should be forced to lead a way of life that is forcefully conferred upon him or her. It is very easy to guess why the touristic destinations within the Middle East region are avoided by many tourists since their laws and regulations of personal conduct are strict and at times very harsh. But for the northern Africa countries such as Tunisia and Morocco, the laws and relations are accommodative to any specific tourists. We can conclude that the general fear brought about the violence acts of al shabab and their broader widened agenda has led to decline in the of tourists along the Kenyan costal touristic destination and some of the tourists who preferred Kenya at one point, have opted for another nation to spend their holiday in. the al shabab seem to have achieved a part of their agenda. Political factor Politics have long been blamed for much civil strife across many world democracies for several recent years. The agenda of personal geed by each of leaders has been established as what brings out differences between them which in turn leads to war. This has been the case in countries such as Syria, Libya and Sudan. There are various militants groups across the world who seeks to impose rules and regulations that they think are best suited to everyone even if it’s not the case. The al shabab of Somalia imposes strict version of sharia in areas it controls in southern Somalia. This particular terror organization has recruitment among the Kenyan society especially in the coastal areas. The faction of Kenyan is al shabab is referred to as Jaysh Ayman. The ultimate goal of the Jaysh Ayman is to eliminate the non locals, advocate the use of sharia and ensure anyone who resides along the coast of Kenya is a Muslim Such political ambitions of the terror gang have really damaged the tourism sector in Kenya. It was established that many foreign tourists were advised by their national governments to avoid visiting the nation since it was a hotbed of terror as reported by some of the western media outlets. The al shabab ambitious plan of establishing an Islamic caliphate in the coastal areas of Kenya were note when the Mpeketoni killings were undertaken under the orders of the terror group. More than one hundred Christians were killed and their property destroyed. The killings kept the tourist at the bay. Soon after these killings, more terror attacks were carried out by the group to ensure the tourism sector crippled to its knees. Recommendations In any developed or developing nation across the world, religious tolerance is the key to peaceful cohesion among its population. The modern society is the touristic destinations across the world should be educated on the need of religious tolerance since tourism is a major source of income. We should learn to respects other people`s religious views and backgrounds for the betterment of the future generations. We cannot all profess same religious faith; Islam is deep rooted in the Arab world, Christianity to the west, Hinduism to the Indians. Therefore we contemplate that religion should never be the ground to which to wage a war to another religious group as it has been the case of the al shabab terror network. The national government of the various countries in the world should strive forward to avoid marginalization of any community of persons in their countries. Marginalization of any specific group will lead to war. For example in Kenya, the al shabab worn the youth of Kenya in their recruitment drive since the youths felt marginalized by the Kenyan government and the only way they could be heard would be through the use of violence. However violence only deteriorates the already worse situation. The national governments should come up with proper channel through which grievances such as those of marginalization can be forwarded and the right course of justice undertaken. Security of any nation across the globe is very critical towards its economic development. We have seen how the America`s economy went down due to its involvement on the war on terror. Terrorism has been established to bring down the progress of nation`s economy since less economic development activities can be undertaken. World governments such as that of Kenya should focus on improving and maintaining high levels of security within its borders. With proper security more economic development can be realized. The world government should share information regarding the terror organization and their members so that they do not succeed in their heinous activities across the world. The fight against terrorism is no longer domestic but global. Everybody ought to take part in the fight against all the elements of terrorism since the terror organizations such as al Qaeda have established terror cells across the world. References RYAN, C. (1991). Tourism, terrorism and violence. Conflict Studies. 244, 30. AGBIBOA D.E. (2014). Ties that Bind: The Evolution and Links of Al-Shabab. Round Table. 103, 581-597. AGBIBOA D.E. (2013). Al-shabab's dangerous affair with al-Qaeda. Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies. 38, 425-440. (2011). Kenya agrees to join AMISOM to fight Al-Shabab. JANES DEFENCE WEEKLY -INTERNATIONAL EDITION-. 48, 15. Read More

Economic factors The Kenya government accused the terror organization, the al shabab, of kidnapping tourists on the Kenyan soil and later demanding ransom for their release. They sought he sum of money so that the kidnapped tourist could be released. The al shabab denied its involvement but several high profile security experts within western sources indicated the kidnappings were all carried out by al shabab so as to raise money paid to them ransom for their jihad activities. The Kenyan retaliated by sending it troops in thousands to fight the terror gang but the result of incursion into Somalia territory were disastrous, in early days of invasion into Somalia, there was no immediate effects on the tourism sector.

However almost two years since the invasion of Somalia by Kenyan forces, the tourism sector on the costal areas was almost totally crippled. The hotels were empty. Both local and foreign tourist avoided the costal destination, Reason? They all feared the marauding al shabab militants. Several western governments warned their citizens against visiting the horn of Africa nation. The tourists simply kept off the nation. Hotels remained empty, many jobs were lost. The al shabab had begun winning a part of the war.

Many Kenya began getting worried about the empty sandy beaches which earned them several billions, some proposed withdraw of their military forces from Somalia, it was never the case. They had to continue experiencing the real effects of war with the Somali militants. Chefs, drivers, fresh produce traders and other sorts of jobs were lost; everybody felt the heat of terrorism. Thereafter the al shabab launched heavier attacks against the non-locals in the cost areas who earlier promoted the culture diversity which promoted tourism.

The al shabab and created their own buffer zone in Kenyan territory. The Kenya forces fought in Somalia, the al shabab fought in Kenya. The Mpeketoni brought the real reality to the world in general. Non locals were no longer wanted in the coastal areas, therefore the tourists totally avoided the beaches and they opted for upcountry touristic destinations. It can be noted that since the Kikambala attacks against the Israeli tourists in the year 2002, the trend against the tourists is ever growing and it should be our duty safe guard the sector from crippling.

However the sector stared gaining again since the year 2014 and European tourist started arriving in large numbers. Figure: A map showing Islamist controlled areas of Somalia Social factors The social way of the different communities differ in many different ways. The culture of the Arabs is total different form the culture of the Europeans. The way of life of the Indians is too different from the way of life of the Africans. For example the Indians regard the animal cow as special and cannot be slaughtered for food as it is the case for the African communities which view the cows as a source of food.

It should be understood that a certain culture may be deemed as offensive to another group of persons. We see how various religious extremists especially those professing the Islamic faith view the Christian culture as sinful and should be totally avoided. The Islamic extremists have tried to impose a way of life that is dictated by the Sharia laws which christens on their hand view as outdated and everybody should avoid. We note t how the two ways of life are crushing. The religious groups which are Islamic and Christianity both are present at the Kenyan coastal touristic destination.

Each group has been established to impose their own way of life. The Christian way of life is he one that is majority accepted but the Islamic extremists have always advocated the use of violence to spread their heinous outdated gospel. It should be noted that tourist will always avoid touristic destinations with tight and harsh laws.

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