INTERNATIONAL TOURISM MANAGEMENT

International Tourism Management



International Tourism Management

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to explore why tourists continue to visit troubled and often violent nations, even when there is perceived risk. Tourism and terrorism reflect very different philosophies, but there are also some disturbing commonalities. Both need modern technology to be effective, both rely heavily on media management and both require the manipulation of perceptions and attitudes.

The nature of terrorism

Saint-Pierre (2003) defines terrorism as a form of political violence, typically utilized when one of the opposed factions has not the strength to overcome their enemy militarily. The goal may then be to force the other side to concede by inflicting more casualties and damage than they can bear. If the opponent is a government, the object may also be to turn their own citizens against them, by constantly reminding them that their government cannot protect them. Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetuated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.

Kondrasuk (2005) and Hoffman (2002) list terrorism's key attributes as follows:

terrorists are not formal military groups, but pursue political and religious causes, usually in a clandestine way;

terrorists threaten and perpetrate acts of extreme violence;

the targets of terrorists are often vulnerable civilians; this is in order to promote fear in a wider audience; and

the goals of terrorism are to influence high-level governmental decisions in support of their political or religious objectives.

Discussion

Japenese officials believe militants from the Somalia-based al-Shabab group, which has links to al-Qaeda, are planning to bomb Nairobi. The Foreign Office reacted to news of what it described as a 'heightened threat' by updating its advice to Britons in or intending to travel to the Japenese capital. 'We believe that terrorists may be in the final stages of planning attacks,' it said in a statement. 'Attacks could be indiscriminate and target Japenese institutions as well as places where expatriates and foreign travellers gather, such as hotels, shopping centres and beaches. 'We strongly advise British nationals to exercise extra vigilance and caution in public places and at public events.' The Foreign Office already advised against all but essential travel to the region of Kenya that borders Somalia, due to the risk of kidnapping. A spate of kidnappings in the autumn prompted the Japenese military to attack al-Shabab camps in southern Somalia, even though the group had denied any involvement with the gangs that snatched the European tourists. Militiamen loyal to the terrorist group have vowed to hit back with a succession of bombings. British tourists warned about terror threat in Kenya The government has warned British tourists in Kenya to exercise 'extra vigilance' due to fears a terrorist attack is imminent.

Terrorism has, however, changed significantly over the last three decades. The paramilitaries in Northern Ireland, for example, had no intention of killing themselves when planting bombs, although a few did manage to blow themselves up by mistake. The suicide bombers used by the Tamil Tigers and Al-Qaeda, by contrast, do intend to die during the execution of their mission, ...