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Impact Of Terrorism And Violence On Global Tourism

Introduction

According to World Travel and Tourism Council 1997, “Tourism Industry is the world’s prominent industries contributing $3.6 trillion to the global gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 255 million people”. (Apostolopoulos, Sonmez &Tarlow 1999). It is also considered one of the most exciting and progressive industries which has a big impact on all other industries. Although tourism industry has shown tremendous growth in recent years providing incredible experiences to its consumers yet it remains highly prone to natural (e.g. Tsunami, Hurricane & volcanic eruptions) and human caused calamities (e.g. war, crime & terrorism). This essay therefore discusses about terrorism in relation to tourism. It focuses on the impacts of terrorism on global tourism and provides an understanding of the relationship between political instability, terrorism and tourism.

Tourism, Political Instability and Violence

Definition of terrorism†:
´†The US Department of State defines terrorism as “. . . premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against civilians and unarmed military personnel by sub national groups...usually intended to influence an audience”†ª (Sihmez 1998) 
Definition of political instability†:
´†Political instability describes the condition of a country where a government “has been toppled, or is controlled by factions following a coup, or where basic functional pre-requisites for social-order control and maintenance are unstable and periodically disrupted”†ª (Cook 1990, cited in Sihmez 1998).
The study of D’Amore & Anuza 1986 states that, “Closer scrutiny of terrorism- for the purpose of understanding some of its underlying currents-begs a look at world conditions. As a new millennium is about to begin, nations wrestle with hunger, disease, and numerous other socioeconomic and environmental...