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Terrorism, political instability and

tourism in the Middle East

Dr Jan Mosedale

Global Tourism

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.

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)

Israel – Palestine conflict

Jewish Claims

� Biblical Promise

� Historical imperative

� Need for homeland due to persecution

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Palestinian Claims

� Demographic imperative

� Relevance of biblical claim questioned

�Why should Arabs pay price for European based persecution?

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1923–1948: The British

Mandate

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History of a conflict

� > 1923: Ottoman Syria

� 1923–1948: The British Mandate

� 1948: Creation of Israel

� 1948-1949: Arab –Israeli War

History of a conflict

� > 1923: Ottoman Syria

� 1923–1948: The British Mandate

� 1948: Creation of Israel

� 1948-1949: Arab –Israeli War

� 1967: The Six Day war

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History of a conflict

� > 1923: Ottoman Syria

� 1923–1948: The British Mandate

� 1948: Creation of Israel

� 1948-1949: Arab –Israeli War

� 1967: The Six Day war

� 1987-1993: Intifada I

� 2000-2005: Intifada II

� 2003: The Security Fence/Wall

History of a conflict

� > 1923: Ottoman Syria

� 1923–1948: The British Mandate

� 1948: Creation of Israel

� 1948-1949: Arab –Israeli War

� 1967: The Six Day war

� 1987-1993: Intifada I

� 2000-2005: Intifada II

� 2003: The Security Fence/Wall

� Intifada III (?)

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).

Security in tourism

� Security as a concept is central to tourism

� Not just as a result of 9-11, but also because of shifts in American and UK foreign policies

� Concerns about religious and political fundamentalism

� Security concerns affect tourism decision- making and economic, political confidence

� Security concerns are not new

� Tourism industry is highly vulnerable to changes in security

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Political instability

� The political nature of tourism receives only scant

attention in the research literature

� Issues of political stability and political relations

are very important in determining the image of destinations

� Safety and security are the price of entry to

destinations

Terrorism in the Middle East

� Remember: safety, security and peace are the

price of entry to a destination

� Historical overview:

� July 22, 1968: PLO terrorists hijacked an Israeli

airliner flying from Rome to Tel Aviv

� This marked the advent of modern international

terrorism: first hijacking designed to terrorise a

nation into changing its policy and to force world

attention on a cause.

� December 21, 1988: bomb on PanAm flight 103

from London to New York (Lockerbie disaster)

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.

Terrorism and tourism in the

Middle East

� Bombings in Dhahran, Tel Aviv, and Jerusalem dominated terrorist incidents in the Middle East in 1996:nearly doubled the number of terrorist casualties to 837 from 445 in 1995

� Violence in Egypt continued, in Cairo, 18 tourists were shot and killed in 1997

� Tourism in the Middle East has been hampered by regional political instability

� Negative external perceptions of the region (through western media)

� Patterns of development fail to exploit the full potential of tourism as a catalyst for sustainable tourism development

Effects of War

� 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

Destination Image and

terrorism

� Tourist destination images are a crucial factor in

the decision-making process of tourists

� The mere existence of an image in a person’s

mind is more important than whether it is a true representation of the place or not.

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� Images are formed based on information

sources such as the media, word-of-mouth

� Influence factors (among others) are political

incidents and wars

Summary (I)

� 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

Summary (II)

�Middle East region highlights close relationship

between tourism, politics and unrest

� Illustrates the fragility of tourism

� Periods of instability perpetuate image problems long after

� Absence of conflict would lead to normalised

relations and both cross border tourism and investment in region

Workshop

� Egyptian Revolution 2011:

� http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-

12502189

� http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xttXeAR_H7k&

feature=fvst

� You have just been put in charge of the Egyptian Tourism Office. What strategies are you going to employ to further promote international tourism

to the country after the recent political unrest?

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