International Tourismversus Terrorism

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Research paper

By Dr. Ala Al-HamarnehUniversity of Mainz, Germany

a.al-hamarneh@geo.uni-mainz.de

International Tourismversus Terrorism

There are four different messages whichterrorist attacks on tourists might want todeliver: First, destabilization of local politicalsystems. The terrorist attacks in Egypt are ofthis type. They aim to expose the gaps insecurity in the government’s policy and to

challenge it. At the same time, they arehitting one of the most important economicsectors of the country. Second, they draw attention to the plight of aminority group. The ETA terror in Spain, forexample, claims to represent the interests of

the Basque ethnic group. Some radicalKurdish groups in Turkey attacked touristdestinations with the declared aim ofcapturing the world’s attention andhighlighting their grievances.Third, expressing hostility towards the �

Islamic Tourism – Issue 19 – September-October / 2005 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

International tourism is an industry that lives on personal contacts and has a message: to enable and facilitate aface-to-face intercultural dialogue. A successful tourism industry needs political stability, peace, security, and thepotential 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 seeksto hinder a possible, better and deeper understanding of the "others". Terrorism against tourists in general is either a

politically or a culturally motivated act.

.áæeB’Gh á∏«ª÷G IôgÉ≤dG áæjóeThe peaceful and beatiful Cairo.

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politics practiced in the countries of theterrorists’ origin. The terror attacks in Baliwere clearly connected with the post 9/11situation. Through attacks against Israelitourists in Mombassa and visitors to aSynagogue in Jerba, the terrorists seemed toexpress their hostility towards Israel. Fourth, for financial gain. The kidnapping ofEuropean and Australian tourists in Yemenand the Philippines was obviouslyconnected with raising money to finance theparent organizations of the terrorists. The success of a politically motivatedterrorist action can be measured by the long-term effects caused by the attacks and bytheir media exposure.Culturally motivated terrorism is notcommonplace. Some scholars see thepolitical aims of direct terror attacks ontourists in Arab and Muslim countries asshaped by a cultural "touch." In the academic discussions about theterrorist attacks on tourists in Egypt in the90s, it was suggested by some researchersthat cultural elements played an importantrole. They developed the concept that someradical Islamist activists may feel they needto take drastic action to prevent what theyperceive as a threat to their national culture,

tradition, and religious beliefs. What ismissing in this argument is that the so-called "activists" were and are in radicalopposition to the Egyptian government andstate policy. The main aims of such terrorist attacks are;first, to destabilize the central governmentpolitically and economically; and, second, toaddress an international audience. Culturalmotivations have been gaining groundagain since 9/11. The severity of the attacks,the Muslim backgrounds of the terroristsand the "use" of suicide bombers after 9/11gave a push to the theories of culturalembedding. Nevertheless, the reduction of‘culture’ to religion only is a questionableand dubious approach.The channels of interactive interculturaldialogue are indeed limited, especiallywhere large numbers of people are involved.The most wide-spread channels of dialogueoffer either restricted face-to-faceinteraction, as in the case of informationtechnologies (television, internet), or haverestricted accessibility, as in the cases ofinter-governmental activities and culturalexchanges. International migration has faileduntil now to deliver a space of dialoguebetween the societies and cultures of the

Islamic Tourism – Issue 19 – September-October / 2005 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

new and old countries of residence.International tourism provides a directopportunity to visit, discover and get to knowthe "other" in his/her homeland. Such directcontacts are of great importance if weconsider, for example, that millions ofEuropeans keep visiting Arab countries eachyear even after the terror attacks in Luxorand Jerba.It looks as though the terrorists are failing intheir ambitions. Despite the direct short-termnegative economic and political affects ofthe terror attacks on tourists, it seems that inthe long-term, the radical ideologiesconnected to terror are rapidly losingpopularity. Otherwise how can we explainthe direct attacks on Egyptian workers at abus stop in Sharm el-Sheikh in July 2005. Onthe one hand, it looks as if the concept of "ifyou are not with us, you must be against us"is being adopted literally by the terrorists. Itsuggests that everybody who is involved inthe industry of international tourism is againstthem. This means that terrorism againsttourists and tourism is indirectly stimulatingdiscussions on conservatism, liberalism andtolerance in Arab societies.Most European tourists visiting Arabcountries go on package tours. They stay inmore or less segregated communities likeSharm el-Sheikh and Hurgada in Egypt,Agadir in Morocco, Port Kantaoui und Jerbain Tunisia and Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, withminimal contact with the local people andindigenous culture. Unfortunately, after 9/11 the segregation hasbeen increased under the pretext of security.Segregation provides no security as we havenoticed in the last three years. On thecontrary, alienating foreign tourists throughspatial isolation makes them more vulnerableto insecurity and danger, and as a"collateral". The people working in tourismbecome alienated as well. Throughsegregation and manic security measures,a whole industry is alienated.Intercultural dialogue and direct contacts havethe potential to prevent negative and violentdevelopments in the tourism sector.International tourism delivers a model ofpeaceful coexistence, tolerance and culturalexchange. That is why tourism and tourists arehated so much and attacked by terrorists. �

Research paper

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