tourism

The Impact of Terrorism on the Tourism and Travel Industry

The industry of tourism and travel is a highly lucrative business and a vital indicator of economic growth . It is the largest service export in the United States and one of the country 's leading employer with over 19 million workers . The multi-billion industry offers enormous financial benefits in terms of foreign exchange , taxes , business opportunities as well as jobs . In this 21st century , people 's attitude towards tourism changed from leisure to necessity . The World Tourism Organization (WTO of the United

Nations projected that by the year 2020 tourism and travel will be the largest industry in the world with 1 .5 billion travelers visiting various countries spending almost 2 billion a year or 5 billion a day . Traveling provides not only occasions to explore picturesque sceneries or famous landmarks of other countries but above all it promotes peace and understanding among people of different unique cultures around the world

However , when terrorism struck America in September 11 , 2001 the industry suffered severe losses in revenues and stock values . The traumatic event brought fear and psychological injury to travelers because passenger planes were used as tools for the attacks . The U .S industry 's share in the world market dropped 30 where international travels to the country crashed from 50 million to 45 .5 million according to the Travel Industry Association of America . Airlines lost approximately 13 billion that year , a drop of 6 .8 in earnings

Before the incident , the United States was the world 's most popular long-haul tourism destination , exceeded only by France , Italy and Spain in absolute number of foreign visitors per annum . In 2000 , some 50 .9 million foreign visitors entered the United States , of whom 44 , 608 , 658 were defined as tourists . They generated US 103 billion in revenue making tourism one of the largest export industries in the United States (Beirman , 2003 ,

. 43 . The country fell from number one to number six as dream destination for overseas travelers . Seventy-seven percent of Professional Travel Agents then believed that the U .S . was difficult to visit because of terrorism . Many other services to tourism and industry such as hotels , travel agencies , cruise companies , and tour operators also experienced downturn in their operations . The horrible attacks caused adverse consequences that resulted in business closures lost of jobs , cost reduction , reduced working hours , and increased in cancellations . The negative impact of terrorism caused reluctance and anxiety for tourists to travel again because of uncertainties

Decreasing Growth Rate

Prior to September 11 , 2001 the World Travel and Tourism Council placed the annual growth rate of the industry at 3 .8 percent . In fact , the WTO estimated the flow of tourists for 2000 at 7 .4 percent with 699 million arrivals internationally . After the incident , the rate dropped significantly at negative 5 .1 percent wherein 4 .4 percentage points were attributed to the terrorist attacks . More than 6 .5 million workers lost their jobs . From 2001...