Terrorism is one of the great blights of the world but
particularly for tourism. Attacks can have severe effects on how destinations
are perceived and leave long lasting scars that take time to heal. Over the
last year it has been Europe that has felt the pain resulting from terrorist
attacks.
It is estimated that international
arrivals in France during 2016 have fallen by around 5% to 7%, according to
the French tourism board. The Louvre reported that it had received 15% less
visitors and occupancy rates have been hit hard in Paris during 2016. Turkey
has had an even rougher year, seeing arrivals
fall by 31% year-on-year in the first 11 months of 2016.
Turkey is suffering more because of it has a combination of
issues. Multiple attacks from different groups, mass refugee inflows, political
instability and a major war on its southern border are all weighing down
tourists’ perceptions of the country. Academic research has largely concluded
that it is the frequency of incidents that causes the most reduction in
arrivals, with recovery usually experienced within six months to a year if
there aren’t further incidents. So, if France can continue to avoid major
attacks in the immediate future, then it should already be on the way up.
However, for Turkey it looks like the road back to the tourism numbers of three
years ago is going to be a much harder, and longer, process.
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