COLLISION OF TERRORISM ON TOURISM By Dr. Himanshu Rastogi[1] and Kapil Shanker Tiwari[2]

Abstract

Tourism is a critical 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 exist. But what happens when negative conditions exist, such as terrorism?

The impact of terrorism on a state’s economy may be enormous, leading to unemployment, homelessness, deflation, crime and other economic and social ills. “The contribution of tourism and travel to both industrialized and developing countries is now so great that any downturns in the level of activity in the industry are a cause of concern. The repercussions extend beyond activities directly associated with tourism, notably airlines, hotels and catering, to sectors that supply intermediate or final goods that are purchased by firms and employees in the industry, so that all sectors of the economy are affected to a greater or lesser extent.

International tourism is an industry that lives on personal contacts and has a message: to enable and facilitate a face-to-face intercultural dialogue. A successful tourism industry needs political stability, peace, security, and the potential for dialogue between different groups of people without mental or physical restrictions. Terrorism against tourists and in tourist destinations aims, among other things, to prevent intercultural contacts and dialogue. It seeks to hinder a possible, better and deeper understanding of the “others”. Terrorism against tourists in general is either a result of unethical politics or negative cultural motivated act. There are various instances which show the impact of terrorism on tourism: like various attacks in – Srinagar, Mumbai, Delhi, Assam, Varanasi, London, Egypt, Arabian countries etc. It will be the Endeavour of those who wish to hurt world to use terror tactics to scare tourists away. It does not require clairvoyance to figure that out. Hence, both the government and other sections of society interested in promoting tourism, both domestic and in-bound, must have a forward-looking policy on dealing with terrorism that does not hurt tourism.

Just like other industries, the tourism industry is not shielded from external factors which are likely to affect tourism activities in a given region. Security has become one of the major issues surrounding the tourism industry. Safety has become one of the most important human basic needs that have to be satisfied. Therefore, the feeling of being safe by tourists has a great impact on tourism activities. Tourist destinations that are subject to terrorist attacks always attract a smaller number of tourists regardless of tourist attractions available. Such attacks cause economic and environmental losses apart from a high casualty rate. Further on, terrorist attacks destroy infrastructure that support tourism activities such as roads, real estate and social amenities. This greatly impairs the ability of a destination to fulfill tourist’s needs. Infrastructure such as communication network and transportation are very important in ensuring success in tourism activities. Analyzing the impact of terrorism on tourism is an important topic since tourism is a critical part of the global economy. Both developed and developing countries have turned to tourism as a major source of income and employment. Therefore, terror attacks affect economic performance and human development.  Attacks that have a negative impact on the tourism industry also go ahead to have an impact on the social structure and relations between different countries due to that fact that such attacks may involve parties from different states.

[1] Amity University Campus, Malhaur (near railway station), Gomti Nagar Extension, Lucknow.

[2] Amity University Campus, Malhaur (near railway station), Gomti Nagar Extension, Lucknow.

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