Terrorism and the demand of tourism: Impacts and preparations
Author: Maria Johanna Mannila
1 Commentries
Abstract:
This paper will examine the impacts that terrorism has on tourism demand. It will first generally look the impacts of terrorism on demand and then focus on the case of Egypt. Furthermore it presents different ways of preparation for possible terrorist attacks.
Keywords: Tourism demand, terrorism, impacts, responses.
Terrorism is a growing concern in the modern world. Within the last two decades terrorist attacks have become more common and at the same time the worry of tourists' safety has increased. Tourism industry has lately been target of several terrorist attacks. According to Fuchs and Pizam tourists are seen as 'soft targets'. They stand out from the crowd because of their appearance but they also tend to let their guard down and enter places that are unsafe (2011: 304-305). Terrorism is used as a political weapon and coverage in media only reinforces the impact of attacks (Pizam and Smith 2000: 124-125).
Terrorism is proved to have negative impact on tourism demand (Araña and León 2008: 299).
The more severe and frequent attacks are, the more negative influence they will have on demand (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 303). The impacts of terrorism can either be regional or worldwide. One, and probably the most severe, example of terrorist attack that had worldwide impacts was the attack on New York September 11. Crash into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center led to death of 5000-6000 people and it affected heavily on America's tourism industry, causing decrease of 50 per cent in airline passenger loads and hotel occupancy rate (Goodrich 2002: 573). It had also strong impact on tourism globally, leading to decrease of 10 per cent on tourism business (Crawford 2012: 92). Some countries lost even 30 per cent of their tourism income and tourism in the Middle East was especially affected (Crawford 2012: 92).
Egypt has enjoyed the popularity of tourists for many years now and tourism is an important source of income for the country. Service sector produced almost 50 per cent of country's GDP in 2008 and in recent years tourism's share of GDP has been 6-7 per cent (Domboróczky 2010: 365). However Egypt has been a target of numerous terrorist attacks during the last two decades which have had negative impact on country's reputation.
According to Pizam and Smith terrorism in Egypt is a consequence of irresponsible tourism development. Instead of funding locals' basic needs like water, electricity and sanitation, public funds go to infrastructure of sumptuous tourist resorts (2000: 124). There are also wide economic and social gaps between visitors and residents (Sönmez 1998: 426) and furthermore the Islamic rules are in conflict with the lifestyles of tourists (Pizam and Smith 124-125).
It was found that terrorism had variable impacts on tourism demand in Egypt. Most of the attacks were reported to have negative impact on tourism demand. Severe attacks like Luxor massacre in 1997 and gun attack in Cairo 1996 led to huge lost of tourism revenue. However in 1994-1995 tourism revenue growth rose (especially in the latter year with growth of 34 per cent) despite the attacks occurred (Crawford 2012: 93). This shows that the severity of attack plays important role.
Even though terrorist attacks in Egypt have caused great losses in tourism income, industry has been able to recover remarkably fast. However repetitive attacks and negative media attention have created detrimental image for Egypt (Pizam and Smith 2000: 126).
Tourism industry is very sensitive to terrorism and it is important that destinations are prepared for the attacks (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 300). There are not many crisis management plans or policies available for tourism destinations but creating one is essential (Sönmez et al 1999: 17). Developing a crisis management plan and a guidebook, forming a task force and collaborating with law enforcement officials are common ways to respond to threat of terrorism (Sönmez et al 1999: 17). Furthermore it is important to educate staff in case of possible incidents, update security equipment, tighten penalties for crimes against visitors and advise tourists how to behave in destination without drawing too much attention (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 309).
To manage crisis successfully, all participants need to work together. Cooperation between destination, tourism industry, visitors, media and decision-makers is significant. Measures before the accident and after the accident are essential and need to be carried out carefully.
Even though terrorism can not be prevented, it is important that destinations are well prepared for it. However tourism industry is persistent and will continue its operation despite terrorism.
References
Crawford, D. (2012). Recovering from terror: the Egyptian and Balinese experiences. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes . 4 (1), 92-96.
Fuchs, G. and Pizam, A. (2011). The importance of safety and security for tourism destinations. In: Wang, Y and Pizam, A. Destination marketing and management: theories and applications. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 300, 303-306, 308-309.
Pizam, A and Smith, G. (2000). Tourism and terrorism: a quantitative analysis of major terrorist acts and their impact on tourism destinations. Tourism Economics. 6 (2), 124-126, 132-133.
This paper will examine the impacts that terrorism has on tourism demand. It will first generally look the impacts of terrorism on demand and then focus on the case of Egypt. Furthermore it presents different ways of preparation for possible terrorist attacks.
Keywords: Tourism demand, terrorism, impacts, responses.
Terrorism is a growing concern in the modern world. Within the last two decades terrorist attacks have become more common and at the same time the worry of tourists' safety has increased. Tourism industry has lately been target of several terrorist attacks. According to Fuchs and Pizam tourists are seen as 'soft targets'. They stand out from the crowd because of their appearance but they also tend to let their guard down and enter places that are unsafe (2011: 304-305). Terrorism is used as a political weapon and coverage in media only reinforces the impact of attacks (Pizam and Smith 2000: 124-125).
Terrorism is proved to have negative impact on tourism demand (Araña and León 2008: 299).
The more severe and frequent attacks are, the more negative influence they will have on demand (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 303). The impacts of terrorism can either be regional or worldwide. One, and probably the most severe, example of terrorist attack that had worldwide impacts was the attack on New York September 11. Crash into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center led to death of 5000-6000 people and it affected heavily on America's tourism industry, causing decrease of 50 per cent in airline passenger loads and hotel occupancy rate (Goodrich 2002: 573). It had also strong impact on tourism globally, leading to decrease of 10 per cent on tourism business (Crawford 2012: 92). Some countries lost even 30 per cent of their tourism income and tourism in the Middle East was especially affected (Crawford 2012: 92).
Egypt has enjoyed the popularity of tourists for many years now and tourism is an important source of income for the country. Service sector produced almost 50 per cent of country's GDP in 2008 and in recent years tourism's share of GDP has been 6-7 per cent (Domboróczky 2010: 365). However Egypt has been a target of numerous terrorist attacks during the last two decades which have had negative impact on country's reputation.
According to Pizam and Smith terrorism in Egypt is a consequence of irresponsible tourism development. Instead of funding locals' basic needs like water, electricity and sanitation, public funds go to infrastructure of sumptuous tourist resorts (2000: 124). There are also wide economic and social gaps between visitors and residents (Sönmez 1998: 426) and furthermore the Islamic rules are in conflict with the lifestyles of tourists (Pizam and Smith 124-125).
It was found that terrorism had variable impacts on tourism demand in Egypt. Most of the attacks were reported to have negative impact on tourism demand. Severe attacks like Luxor massacre in 1997 and gun attack in Cairo 1996 led to huge lost of tourism revenue. However in 1994-1995 tourism revenue growth rose (especially in the latter year with growth of 34 per cent) despite the attacks occurred (Crawford 2012: 93). This shows that the severity of attack plays important role.
Even though terrorist attacks in Egypt have caused great losses in tourism income, industry has been able to recover remarkably fast. However repetitive attacks and negative media attention have created detrimental image for Egypt (Pizam and Smith 2000: 126).
Tourism industry is very sensitive to terrorism and it is important that destinations are prepared for the attacks (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 300). There are not many crisis management plans or policies available for tourism destinations but creating one is essential (Sönmez et al 1999: 17). Developing a crisis management plan and a guidebook, forming a task force and collaborating with law enforcement officials are common ways to respond to threat of terrorism (Sönmez et al 1999: 17). Furthermore it is important to educate staff in case of possible incidents, update security equipment, tighten penalties for crimes against visitors and advise tourists how to behave in destination without drawing too much attention (Fuchs and Pizam 2011: 309).
To manage crisis successfully, all participants need to work together. Cooperation between destination, tourism industry, visitors, media and decision-makers is significant. Measures before the accident and after the accident are essential and need to be carried out carefully.
Even though terrorism can not be prevented, it is important that destinations are well prepared for it. However tourism industry is persistent and will continue its operation despite terrorism.
References
Crawford, D. (2012). Recovering from terror: the Egyptian and Balinese experiences. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes . 4 (1), 92-96.
Fuchs, G. and Pizam, A. (2011). The importance of safety and security for tourism destinations. In: Wang, Y and Pizam, A. Destination marketing and management: theories and applications. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 300, 303-306, 308-309.
Pizam, A and Smith, G. (2000). Tourism and terrorism: a quantitative analysis of major terrorist acts and their impact on tourism destinations. Tourism Economics. 6 (2), 124-126, 132-133.