Tourism in Crisis: Managing the Effects of Terrorism By

CONCLUSIONS 
Accepting the permanence of terrorism and regional political problems is a requisite to managing them. This is 
pertinent not only for governments of nations afflicted with terrorism or political disturbances and tourist-
generating nations but also for the international tourism industry. When the tourism industry experiences 
negative events caused by natural disasters, greater public and industry understanding and tolerance are 
invoked. But, human-caused events, especially those involving political violence, trigger public outrage or 
intimidation. Although the problem at hand is exceptionally complex, the hope for effective and applicable 
solutions lies in additional research and cooperative efforts of practitioners, government agencies, and 
academicians. It is high time for the academic community and tourism industry to view these problems as crises 
in need of management rather than periodic problems. Clearly, a tourism crisis can begin after a disaster of 
some type (i.e., terrorist attack) occurs and can continue to escalate with negative media coverage and ruined 
image, as visitation and expenditures plummet—possibly destroying the profitability of a tourism community 
(Sönmez, Backman, and Allen 1994; Tarlow 1998; Wahab 1996). If predictions hold true, terrorism can be 
expected to continue, meaning that either tourism officials must develop a proactive stance or they will be 
forced to react on a piecemeal basis. Few nations around the world afflicted with terrorism or political turmoil 
can afford to give up their tourism earnings. Instead, both governments and members of their tourism industries 
need to focus on the topic to assess risks to international travelers and strategize for effective crisis marketing 
(Hall and O‟Sullivan 1996). 
Crisis management has its boundaries and is not intended to prevent actual disasters or focus on 
micromanagement (i.e., evacuation, rescue); having a plan in place can neither prevent random acts of terrorism 
nor aid in the capture of terrorists. Each crisis situation is unique and difficult to resolve 
with simple formulas; nevertheless, destinations need to be prepared with a plan of action. Having such a 
blueprint promises to save valuable time, energy, and other resources for a tourist destination. In light of 
societal and global complexities, no destination is immune to negative occurrences, thus adhering to an “it can‟t 
happen to us” philosophy can only be described as naive, if not reckless. It may be difficult, even impossible, to 
fully control terrorism, but nations cannot ignore the problem either. 

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