Bomb Vacations: the Impact of International Terrorism in the Travel Industry

Introduction

The study will be focused on how terrorist activities influences tourism. Examining the issue of terrorist attacks in foreign countries, civil unrest and how this affects international travels on tourism. This is a significant issue because other countries’ economic status is going down due to travel issues. For example, the Caribbean Islands are dependent on tourists, especially in the cruise line industry. If they were to have a terrorist act, one could suspect a sharp decline in economic revenue. Therefore, this would be bad for business.

The cruise line would run into an issue of not filling their ships with people, which will in turn make the business itself shut down. The general area of study would be international tourism.

This is an important area to study because thirty-one countries are dependent on tourism. Some of these countries include: Malta, Croatia, Thailand, Jamaica, Iceland (Which Countries are Most Dependent on the Travel Industry?, 2017), Macau, Maldives, British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Seychelles, Anguilla, Bahamas, Vanuatu, Former Netherland Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda (Pariona, 2017), US Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, Bermuda, Palau, Cook Islands, Cyprus, St Kitts and Nevis, French Polynesia, St Lucia, Austria, Lebanon, Switzerland, Egypt, Greece (25 most tourism-dependent countries in the world, 2012).

With some countries reliant on the tourist industry, terrorist activity could cause extreme turbulence within the country’s economy. One attempts to understand the possible implications of terrorist activities within the tourism industry. By examining these countries, the identification of possible industry threats, tourist sectors, and overall dependence of tourism will be made.

Literature Review

Acts of radical terrorism have always been present. This fear of national and international traveling has significantly increased after the attacks on September 11th. Before 2001, international tourism was growing at 7.4 percent. Now, it has a menial growth of 2.0 percent. According to WorldWatch Institute, before the attacks on September 11th, tourism and travel had one of the largest jobs in demand. It contributed for one in every twelve jobs.

“When the massive $3.6 trillion industry almost ground to a halt after the terrorist attacks, the ripple effects extended well beyond the United States, exposing the vulnerability of countries too dependent on international tourism (WorldWatch Institute, 2018).

This exemplifies the theory. This data proves that some countries rely on international tourism to impact their economy. With consistent acts of terrorism, it discredits a country’s positive representation, and compromise the country’s tourism business. Tourism hurts when terrorism happens a lot over time, and it affects how tourists view the country. In a 2014 tourism market report:

The Association of British Travel Agents found the popularity of a ‘number of popular holiday destinations were affected by political, social and economic unrest.’ ‘The most prominent of these was Egypt which started the year [2013] with high visitor numbers but suffered a significant drop-off due to political unrest leading to changes to Foreign Office advice for UK citizens’ (Parkinson & Heyden, 2015).

When referring to the terror attack on Belgium in 2016, researchers can track the effects on tourism. The commerce from tourism had a drastic change. As tourism is often defined by the ability to fill hotel rooms in the region, the scientific research team decided to investigate the occupancy rates in Brussels. The following figure describes the occupancy rates of Brussels.

Figure 1: Occupancy Rates – Brussels (Source: Observatorium voor Toerisme te Brussel: Hotelbarometer, 2017)

As the data explains, in the years of 2014 and 2015, tourism in the region was on the rise. Following the bombing of 2016, Brussels experienced a dramatic decrease in occupancy. For the entire year, they saw a decrease in tourism at a whopping 12.8%. After further research the team discovered a possible variable. The airport was out of commission for months following the bombing. From this variable, the team researched near-by cities who have an airport in close proximity. Antwerp and Bruges were cities chosen. Once concluding the research, both cities experienced a loss in occupancy rates for the entire year of 2016. (V., D., S., & T., 2017)

In a 2014 tourism market report:

The Association of British Travel Agents found the popularity of a ‘number of popular holiday destinations were affected by political, social and economic unrest.’ ‘The most prominent of these was Egypt which started the year [2013] with high visitor numbers but suffered a significant drop-off due to political unrest leading to changes to Foreign Office advice for UK citizens’ (Parkinson & Heyden, 2015).

Although there has been several statistics to prove that tourism has gone down, there are some statistics to prove that tourism is going back up. For example, it has been reported UK citizens are traveling to Morocco even after the Marrakesh bombing that killed fifteen people. It rose from three hundred and eight thousand in 2010 to four hundred and sixty thousand last year. This is including an increase of fifty-one thousand in 2012 (Parkinson & Heyden, 2015). Also, the Wall Street Journal reported “the chance of a Westerner being killed by a terrorist was about one in three million each year, the same as an American’s odds of being killed by a tornado (Parkinson & Heyden, 2015)

Research Objectives

Using quantitative data to seek a theoretical understanding, researchers will use descriptive, explanatory, and predictive research. With the goal to understand how terrorist activities influence tourism. Focusing on countries that are dependent on the tourism economy, researchers gather data prior to one of the most memorable terrorist attacks in recent history, September 11, 2001. We will determine this by illustrating what is occurring, explain why it is occurring, and anticipate what will happen in the future.

By examining secondary data sources, such as academic journals, doctoral thesis’, scholastic articles, and mainstream news sources, researchers will begin to answer the question. Conducting a non-experimental study, as it is an investigative look into the effects of terrorism on tourism, the team examines specific details regarding the economic effect. These factors include, but are not limited to: Countries dependence on tourism industry, countries stability, countries trends and effects of terrorism.

By utilizing an applied research strategy, the team looks at countries individually. Using these Countries as ‘case-studies’ one can describe the events occurring. As an example, if one were to look at the tourism activity in Brussels before 2016, then the team would examine the data reflecting tourism in Brussels after 2016. Using the data, and examining the difference, will give an idea of what is occurring.

After the team identifies what is occurring, they will begin to identify why something is occurring. Using the same example of Brussels, the team gathers quantitative data. The data supports the theory that terrorism has impacted the amount of tourism. Once proving that terrorism affects tourism in Brussels. The team moves to the next step of predictive research. Attempting to predict the outcome of countries after suffering terrorist events by using secondary sources.

References

1. 25 most tourism-dependent countries in the world. (2012, June 25). Retrieved October 11, 2018, from http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-25-most-tourism-dependent-countries-in-the-world/20120625.htm#1
2. Pariona, A. (2017, May 01). Top 10 Countries Most Reliant On Tourism. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-10-countries-most-reliant-on-tourism.html
3. Parkinson, J. & Heyden, T. (2015, June 29). How terrorist attacks affect tourism. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33310217
4. Tourism, Terrorism, and Tomorrow. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2018 from http://www.worldwatch.org/tourism-terrorism-and-tomorrow
5. , D., S., & T. (2017, December 30). The impact of the 2016 terrorist attacks in Brussels on tourism. Retrieved October 11, 2018 from https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/20688#quotation
6. Which Countries are Most Dependent on the Travel Industry? (2017, April 26). Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://howmuch.net/articles/travel-tourism-economy-2017

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