Impacts of Terrorism on International Tourism - Literature review Example

Impacts of Terrorism on International Tourism Name: Institution: Date: Introduction Over the past, terrorism has had significant negative impacts on international tourism. Baker (2014) discusses some many negative impacts ranging from unemployment to deflation. Today, many countries are reliant on tourism, and they cannot afford to lose this important revenue generator. There are even some countries that consider tourism to be their major income generator exceeding over 50 percent of the overall revenue generated. These sources of income generation associated with tourism include hotels and restaurants, airlines, and other businesses that provide tourism-related products and services. However, this important sector has been adversely affected by the acts of terrorism that are being conducted by terrorist groups around the world. Among all the sectors that generate income for the governments and their people, the tourism sector is the most affected sector. The relationship between the two factors is therefore very complex and multifaceted (Baker 2014: 58). Economic links between International Tourism and Terrorism Baker (2014: 58) has largely demonstrated the economic benefits of international tourism. Tourism provides one opportunity in every 12 job opportunities in the services industry. Tourism represents around 30 percent of the global exports in the services sector. In 2014, world’s tourism services exports reached $1,075 billion representing a 4 percent growth. This means that international tourism arrivals increased by 4 percent in 2012. Consequently, international passenger transport generated a total of $219 billion. Baker (2014) estimates that the total exports that exchanged in global tourism in 2012 reached approximately $1.3 trillion. This growth is largely a characteristic of developed countries. On the other side, there are other countries, characterized by poverty and ill-will. These factors have given birth to gangs and terrorist groups which mainly target developed countries citing imbalance in economic factors. Many economies, specifically in the Middle East region, have even gone to the extent of nurturing terrorism with an aim of curing diseases and overcoming hunger and other socio-economic and ecological problems (Vovk 2014: 41). Terrorist groups recruit new members by first promising to offer them better-living conditions and financial resources. This represents the reason why terrorist attack the same destination or country more than once. Terrorism arises from the groups that feel disenfranchised and politically weak, therefore, having no other ways of realizing their objectives since the normal population will not take them seriously. Terrorism is also fuelled by a lack of opportunity to participate in politics (Crenshaw 2003). Economies have globalized thus causing inequalities within and among countries. While globalized economies may be considered advantageous to an economy, not every individual welcomes this development a situation commonly referred to as the “issue of relative deprivation” (Enders and Sanders 2006). These economic depressions and recessions give birth to terrorism which in turn generates strains within tourism. These factors lead to attacks on symbols of modernization such as the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Tower. The world appears to have become one single entity or borderless entity. Terrorism is a natural response to the end of nation-states. Decentralization, privatization, networked world and globalization have given birth to terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. Nation states have been replaced by market states; market states have led to an increase in tourism because many people are traveling across borders for business or leisure. Terrorism which is against market states is fighting them by attacking one of the backbones of the market states – tourism. Ahlfeldt, Franke, and Maennig (2015) observe that terror attacks and the incidents of infectious diseases represent the greatest threats to international tourism. Countries have a tendency of recovering quickly after one incident of a terror attack; however, repeated incidents of terror attacks may result in a lasting decline in tourist demand of a destination or wipe it out completely. For example, the conflict between Israel and Palestinians has significantly affected tourism in the two countries with tourists shifting their travels to other countries and regions. Some countries such as Singapore have quickly recovered due to simplified entry requirements while other countries such as Malaysia have experienced sustained decline in the number of tourists due to follow-up attacks and the infectious disease SARS (Ahlfeldt, Franke and Maennig 2015: 4). Many researchers and scholars have conducted studies that are economic or econometric in nature. For example, Coshall (2003) conducted a study after the terrorist attacks on September 11. He found established an immediate effect on the number of flight passengers from the US to Europe following that attack; however, the effect was found to last only three to four months. However, other studies found out that tourism have a tendency of shifting away from countries suffering terror attacks (Ahlfeldt, Franke, and Maennig 2015: 4). Most tourism organizations are geared to European and American markets. This represents the reason why most of them choose to stay away from Islamic destination countries which are affected by terrorism, including the current Syrian crisis. Impact of Terrorism on International Tourism International tourists and visitors have become one of the main targets of terrorists. In the last 20 years, the world has experienced a very high increase in terrorist attacks (Vovk 2015: 39). Many of them have fallen victims to terrorist attacks especially in the past few decades. Properties in which tourists and visitors reside in after touring or visiting foreign countries, including hotels and restaurants have become the main targets of terrorists. However, it is hard to estimate the effects of terrorism on international tourism or in any country. Vovk (2015: 39) indicates that the effects of terrorism on tourism go beyond tourism-related businesses, including hotels and restaurants, airline companies, and catering facilities. This means that terrorism has effects on all spheres of social life, including economics. This is evident that tourists’ areas of residence while in foreign countries have become one of the main targets of terrorism and this has instilled fear among the potential tourists to the extent that “many scholars in the tourism industry advocate the being safe on vacation” are made a prerequisite for any tourist or visitor. Destinations that are deemed by tourists and visitors as prone to terrorism are being avoided with tourists preferring to visit areas and countries that have a safe reputation. The reputation of a destination is a very important factor and one of the factors that contribute to the growth of that particular destination. The main aim of terrorists in committing the acts of crime or terrorism is to destroy the reputation of a destination or its image. There is a positive or negative relationship between a destination and tourism. Whenever a destination develops a bad ‘unsafe’ reputation, tourists and visitors avoid it. Whenever a destination develops a good ‘safe’ reputation, tourists and visitors increase their visits to that destination and also speak to other potential about that destination. With an increase in tourists and tourists’ visits, comes an increase in income generated by tourism. Therefore, terrorism negatively impacts international travel by impacting tourists’ travel behavior and spending (Edmonds and Mak 2006: 1). The main aim of a terrorist while committing some of their attacks is to instill not only the fear of that destination but also the fear of certain tribal and ethnic groups. For example, the terrorist acts of 11th September 2001 in the United States had many negative impacts on the tourism industry in the U.S. and beyond. Other than instilling fear in the minds of tourists and making them fear to visit the U.S., those attacks also instilled the fear of Muslims and Islam in the minds of people. After these attacks, Islamic religion came under scrutiny and received numerous criticisms from many quarters. These attacks plunged tourism into a new world. These attacks are considered to have different effects on various providers on the international tourism market. Air travel experienced a significant decline in passengers. International air travel was characterized by fear. U.S. aviation industry was on the verge of crashing had it for the US Government which issued $15 million to air travel providers in terms of secured loans (Vovk 2015: 39). He also continues to argue that more than 260,000 people lost their jobs; most hotels located in large cities experienced 30 percent reduction in the number of guests; and there was a declining number of Americans who were willing to travel by air in many countries, including Mexico, Ireland, and the Caribbean countries. Correlation between international tourism and terrorism is strong and cannot be denied. While tourism is highly dependent on social and economic stability, terrorism is seeking to disrupt this stability Vovk (2015: 39) ranks tourism as one of the three industries that have dominated the economy in the 21st century in addition to telecommunications and information technology. These authors have further stated that tourism provides 10.5 percent of the international employment. Many tourism analysts and researchers consider international tourists as people who have very high concerns about their personal safety (Hitchcock 2013: 84). This means that tourism can only survive under peaceful conditions. Therefore, there is a very high relationship between political stability and prosperous tourism with tourism being viewed as being particularly susceptible to international threats, including terrorism. Peace and security cannot be separated from tourism and international tourism. The absence of security and peace will automatically lead to a decline in international tourism and travel to the areas prone to terrorism. A good case in point is the Arab Spring, which has significantly affected the Middle East’s air transport and tourism activities (Thierstein 2014: 48). The continued development and success of air transport systems are dependent on both the state of the world economy and geopolitical stability. Terrorism destabilizes the two factors which in turn destabilize tourism. Even the world super powers have expressed their fear that terrorists are likely to take their terrorist activities a notch higher. For example, the US congress has expressed concern that some terrorists have been planning to exploit the Visa Waiver Program to enter the country with an objective of committing the acts of terrorism. This has instilled fear in people who are intending to travel especially using air routes considering the events of September 11, 2001. Recent attacks in countries such as France and the United Kingdom have raised concerns that terrorist might exploit the Visa Waiver Program. These concerns are likely to instill fear in people who visit the United States or US citizens who travel abroad. The United States is one of the leading countries in terms of reception of tourists and visitors. In 2013, the international tourism and travel sectors accounted for 2.6 percent of the US GDP with the employment in the two sectors hitting a high of 5.4 million people. It is also estimated that international travelers spent over $215 billion in the same year in passenger transport and travel-related products and services (Platzer 2015: 1). This high level of revenue makes the tourism sector the largest services sector export. Terrorism also threatens many aspects including law and order thus undermining stability and security in political, economic, and social environments. Tourism has been considered as especially exposed and sensitive to terrorism incidents. Terrorism adversely affects the demand for a destination; its attractiveness becomes tarnished, and the operations of the tourism operations become disrupted. These consequences can dislocate and depress visitors’ arrivals thus harming economies. It is easy to identify tourists because they usually gather in large numbers at popular tourists’ sites such as beaches, transport termini, hotels, and attraction venues. Terrorist attacks are considered by terrorist groups as achievements, and this explains why these groups come up to claim responsibility for every attack even in occasions when they are not the ones who have conducted the attacks. Almost all the areas that terrorists attack are related to tourism in one way or another. These areas include airports, railways, ships, hotels, and popular attraction sites (Henderson 2013: 55). These places are regarded as comparatively soft targets. Many reasons have been outlined as to why tourism is the major target of terrorism. First, the publicity spawned internationally especially in where tourists who have been caught up or affected by the acts of terrorism. This leads to a significant drop in visitors arrivals thus causing social tensions, place governments under stress, and contributes to the realization of the terrorist goal of destabilization. In many Islamic countries especially in the Middle East, tourism is not very popular in the local communities. This makes these residents condone the acts of terrorist because they want to discourage tourism in their neighborhoods. Enmity towards tourism is very acute in such countries because these residents view tourism as a representation of inequalities that exist between the Third World countries and developed countries. Another reason why international tourism becomes the major target of terrorists is that tourism is targeted because of its diversity, size, and extent. Conclusion Tourism is characterized by consumption that is based on faith and trust. Terrorism significantly damages that faith and trust thus destabilizing the tourism system through demand fluctuations. In discretionary forms of tourism, terrorism affects tourists especially the first-time visitors who largely reliant on destination images and reputation of travel decision-making. International tourism is mainly characterized by international travel and international hotel and accommodation services. Terrorist groups appear to have realized the role played by international tourism in the growth of countries, and they have also realized that that international travel and international hotel and accommodation services are the two of the most important factors in international tourism. As a result, these groups have in previous years targeted these two factors. By targeting these, they have instilled fear among the international tourists. In addition, international tourism represents the sector which provides job opportunities for millions of people. Therefore, terrorism significantly impacts on international tourism. References Ahlfeldt, G., Franke, B., and Maennig, W. 2015. Terrorism and International Tourism: The Case of Germany. The London School of Economics and Political Science. Vol. 235, No. 1, pp. 3-21. Baker, D. 2014. The Effects of Terrorism on the Travel and Tourism Industry. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 58-68. Edmonds, C. and Mak, J. 2006. Terrorism and Tourism in the Asia Pacific Region: Is Travel and Tourism in a New World After 9/11? East-West Center Working Papers, No. 86. Henderson, J. 2013. Tourism Crises: Causes, Consequences, and Management. New York: Routledge Ranga, M., and Pradhan, P. 2014. Does terrorism terrorize tourism: Indian Tourism effacing myths? International Journal of Safety and Security in Tourism. Issue 5, pp. 26-39 Platzer, M. 2015. Balancing Tourism against Terrorism: The Visa Waiver Program. CRS Insights. Available at https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/IN10246.pdf Vovk, S. 2015. The Influence of Terrorism on International Tourism. Journal of European Economy, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 36-48. Read More