A Perception on the Impact of Terrorism on Tourism

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The economic importance of tourism is undeniable. For many countries in the developing world, tourism is a significant source of revenue generation and therefore a major component of economic development, a relationship that rewards states when positive conditions such as a strong global economy exists. But what happens when negative conditions exist? What happens when things like terrorism exist? The impact of terrorism on the country’s economy may be immense, leading to unemployment, homelessness, deflation, and other economic and social ills.

The consequences extend beyond activities directly associated with tourism, particularly airlines, hotels and catering, to sectors that supply intermediate needs hence it can be said that all sector of economy are greatly affected. More specifically when it comes to international tourism. International tourism is presently playing as a major source of foreign currency. It has been recognized for its direct and indirect impact on government revenue, the country’s employment and summarily the country’s income.

But what happens when terrorism occurs. What effects will it bring? Negative repercussions follow. Terrorism brings multiplier effects, negative effects to be precise. Countries where the tourists came from will issue statement such as “unsafe for tourist travel.” Travel advisories issued by certain embassies warn their nationals against travel to places known to have been attacked by terrorists. Debates like terrorism vs. tourism have been undertaken by many scholars. Furthermore, as terrorism against tourists often involves international citizens, international terrorism is defined as “terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than one country.”

However, these negative effects of terrorism are also true to domestic tourism. Incidents like kidnapping, unstable peace and order situation caused by domestic terrorists caused indirect effects like increased time, cost and inconvenience involved in travel because of added security arrangements. Regardless of the effects of terrorism, tourism is unlikely to decline overall. People place great importance on their holidays and are not likely to relinquish them easily. The more likely effect of terrorist attacks and other disasters is to the specific destinations or regions suffer a decline in tourism with travel moving to other locations. This is so because tourism and leisure travel are voluntary activities and because there are many alternative destinations to choose from, security concerns can have a greater impact on the choice of the destination.

It is a fact and a public perception that the cost of terrorism on tourism is realistically immeasurable. Take a particular case with what had happened to the trade centers in New York; data showed that it had resulted in 4 million less international arrivals worldwide in 2001 in comparison to the previous year. This is a concrete example of how it had introduced fear and caused unwillingness to fly on transatlantic flights showing that the tourist industry was affected on a global scale not just in America.

With all these situations mentioned, it can be concluded that it is a major concern that terrorists will always manifest an interest in the tourism sector. What is needed is a collective effort to protect this vulnerable yet very important industry and show greater resilience because this industry has been the provider of employment and economic prosperity in many countries. The tourism industry must be able to remain resilient in the face of adversity. It must always be prepared to counter its major opponent, and that is terrorism.

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