Tourism and terrorism The determinants of destination resilience and the implications for destination image

Abstract

Safety is essential in order for a destination to maintain and increase tourism activities (Gupta et al., 2010; Hall et al., 2004). In comparison, terrorist attacks are more likely to have negative effects on tourism than natural disasters (Sönmez et al., 1999). During the last decades, several terrorist acts have been committed in touristic cities of the North and South (including Boston, Istanbul, Manchester, New Delhi, New York, Paris, and Tunis). Security concerns and the threat of violence perpetrated by certain groups with radical political and religious demands do not only affect a destination’s image and reputation and individual decisions about whether to visit a given destination. They also influence the political and economic balance, which in turn affects the environment in which the tourism industry operates (Hall et al., 2004). While some destinations appear to be suffering the long-term consequences of terrorist attacks on their tourism industry (Liu and Pratt, 2017), others are successfully keeping their industry afloat and avoiding significant economic downturns (Gurtner, 2007; Putra and Hitchcock, 2006). We are therefore seeking to understand the reasons why some destinations manage to maintain their image and remain attractive to tourists despite terrorist acts and others struggle to overcome the consequences of such acts on their industry, even years after the fact.