2. Abstract
According to Poirier (2000) tourism today
is second only to oil as the world’s leading
export commodity, accounting for global
earnings of more than $300 billion, or
nearly 25 per cent of total world GNP. Over
the last two decades, tourism has proved
to be the world’s fastest growing
economic sector, with average growth of
7.1 per cent per year in arrivals and 12.5
per cent in receipts. Despite these
statistics, tourism growth in many
countries has not been this high, in
particular those countries confronted with
various political instabilities that have
caused to retard development in tourism.
3. This paper will examine
• How tourism can be used as a tool
for political and ideological goals.
• How tourism reform occurs in
industries within politically troubled
nations.
• How tourism can be moulded by the
political purpose.
4. Introduction
– Political stability and political relations
influences the image of destinations in
tourist-generating regions (Hall and
O’Sullivan,1996)
– Media portrayal: books, magazines,
newspapers, satellite and cable links has a
substantial influence.
– Examples of political strife that cause
problematic concerns in the attraction of
visitors are:
• Warfare
• coups
• political strikes or protests
“Any evidence of domestic turmoil is likely to result
in a decision not to visit that country. “
Ankomah and Crompton (1990, p19)
5. What is Political Instability?
• “Political instability is described as a 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” (Cook
1990).
• Multifaceted and complex character
• Impact in various countries worldwide is
multilevel and multidimensional.
6. Relationship between politics
and tourism
• “The political aspects of tourism are
interwoven with its economic
consequences…tourism is not only a
“continuation of politics” but an integral
part of the world’s political economy. In
short, tourism is, or can be, a tool used not
only for economic but for political means”
(Edgell, 1990).
7. The Reasons Behind the Neglect
Unwillingness on the part of many decision
makers both in government and in the
private sector to acknowledge the
political nature of tourism.
- Lack of official interest in conducting
research into the politics of tourism.
- Tourism not regarded as a serious
scholarly subject.
-“ Tourism is by now too
important and a pervasive
activity for governments to
ignore.” (Hughes 1984).
8. Has tourism been affected by
political instability?
Effects of Political violence
China - Tiananmen Square, June 4
1989
• Prime time news coverage showed
army tanks threatening the civilian
population.
• After the the Tianamen Square
incident Hotel occupancy rates in
Beijing dipped below 30 per cent.
• Tourism earnings declined by $430
million in 1989 alone.
9. Effects of Military Coups
Fiji - 1987: As a result of a mainly non-
Fijian government being elected.
• Two military coups occurred within four
months.
• Qantas imposed a two-month ban on
flights to Fiji, following the hijacking
attempt of an Air New Zealand Boeing
747.
• Travel Insurance cover was withdrawn
after negative Australian government
travel advice.
10. Effects of Revolutions
• Ejtrcito Zapatista de Liberacion
National (EZLN) initiated an armed
rebellion against the Mexican
government.
• The revolution resulted in 145 to 500
deaths (figures vary depending on
the source).
• 1994 visitation to Mexico
dropped by 70 per cent.
11. Effects of Civil War
Yugoslavia – 1991, Army attacks Slovenia
•Conflict continued for 10 days before moving to
Croatia in 1991, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in1992
•Tour operators for Yugoslavia lost over one million
bookings in 1991
•Two years after the war, figures for Slovenian
tourism are still far behind pre-war figures.
12. Effects of Civil War
Sub Saharan Africa
•Zimbabwe (formerly southern Rhodesia) was the scene of a fifteen
years Liberation War of Attrition between Africans and white
settlers.
The most extensive of Sub-Saharan colonial wars was fought in
Angola,
Mozambique and Guinea Bissau . Nigeria had five successful coups
since gaining independence in the 1960’
•In total, more than 20 major wars have taken place on the sub-
Saharan region of Africa since the 1960s (Ankomah and Crompton
1990, p19).
13. Effects of Civil War
• IPRA targets included senior British
government officials, British military and
police
• Visitor arrivals fell from a 1967 peak of
1,080,000 to 321,000 in 1976
• Ceasefire which began on August 31 1994 was
observed until February 9 1996 when a bomb
exploded in London killing two bystanders and
injuring 43 people
• 18-month cease-fire recorded a 59 per cent
increase (from previous year) in inquiries, 11
per cent increase in hotel occupancy, 18 per
cent increase with out-of-state visitors, and a 68
per cent increase in holiday visitors.
14. Effects of Terrorism
Turkey – 1974, PKK Seeks to Establish
Southeastern Marxist State
•Kurdistan Worker’s Party specifically targeted
Turkey’s tourism industry between 1991 and 1996.
•Bombed tourist sites, hotels and kidnapped
foreign tourists.
•Foreign visitor arrivals dropped eight per cent
from 1992-1993
•After self-imposed ceasefire, international arrivals
reached record levels (9.5 million) in 1996.
15. Effects of Terrorism
Peru –Formation of
Maoist Terrorist Group
•Aim of replacing
existing Peruvian
institutions with a
peasant revolutionary
regime.
•Attacks led to a steep
decline in tourism from
350,000 international
visitors in 1989 to
33,000 in 1991.
16. Effects of Terrorism
Egypt – Late 1970s, Islamic Extremist Group Activity
•Egyptian Islamic extremist group works toward
establishing an Islamic state
•Specifically targeted and launched attacks against
Egypt’s tourism industry since 1992.
•Egypt removed from programs of international tour
operators
•Experienced a 22 per cent drop in international
visitors, 30 per cent drop in tourist nights and 43 per
cent decrease in tourism receipts.
17. Effects of Terrorism
The First Gulf War, 1990
Massive impact on tourist visitation to
the Middle East
Broader impact on international tourism
because of potential for terrorist attacks
18. Effects of Political Instability
North and South Korea
Shooting down of South Korean civilian airliner in
1980.
•South Korean student protests.
Ongoing political instability in North and South
Korea.
Summer Olympics
(1988) was used to
refute the idea of Korea
as a “dangerous place
to visit”.
19. Tourism as a Political Objective :
Arab and Israeli ideology
•So far, Tourism has been passively affected by
political events
•The direct involvement of tourism in the
battle of political ideology
•The ongoing conflict Israel v Palestine
•Not only economical and street conflict, but
political competition (Kobi, 2004)
•Israel = promotion of own image through
tourism, stimulate Zionist view of Palestine
•Palestine = Promotion of a distinctly Arab-
oriented image of Israel
20. Tourism as Political Tool
•Promotional vehicle to convey a positive
image or as a sanction against others.
•Massive tourism program after election of
Marcos in Philippines.
•Use of tourist arrivals as a form of
legitimisation for the regime.
•Manipulating tourism development to
benefit Marcos’ supporters
21. Tourism for Political
Objectives the backlash
•Bombing attempt on Marcos at 1980
American Society of Travel Agents
Conference.
•Bombing attempt resulted in a dramatic
reduction in tourist visitation from the USA.
•Misuse of tourist infrastructure caused spill-
over effects such as enormous inflation,
housing shortages, energy and water
shortages, and mass prostitution.
22. THE INFLUENCE OF GOVERNMENT
TRAVEL ADVISORIES
• Western governments issue regular travel
advisories for their citizens warning them of risks in
travelling to certain destinations.
•Governments can and do exert political pressure
through tourism and use it as a promotional vehicle
to convey a positive image or as a sanction against
unfriendly countries.
•The tourist may take into account the perceived risk
of travelling to destinations that receive government
warnings, and therefore choose not to travel or may
alter the travel destination..
23. Summary
• Political instability and war can increase the
perception of risk at a destination
Political instability generates negative
publicity, which results in an inevitable
decrease in tourist arrivals
• Risk perception can influence tourist
decision-making and destinations can be
severely affected.
• Policymakers from tourism destination
countries need to be aware of how political
instability is perceived
24. Conclusion
Despite the considerable body of evidence on the
effects of political instability on both tourism income
and potential for negative social and cultural
outcomes, tourism management courses do not
include any serious discussion of international
politics and its influence on tourism. This paper,
which is part of an ongoing research into risk
management in tourism, attempts to address that by
discussing the ways in which the political nature of
tourism can be incorporated into tourism
management subjects, particularly at postgraduate
level.
