Tourism, terrorism, and political instability

Concepts of terrorism, political turmoil, and war appear unrelated to tourism. Closer examination of their points of convergence and impacts on tourism reveals otherwise. This paper examines literature focusing on the relationships between these phenomena. Research themes which emerge from available studies include impacts of terrorism and political instability on tourist demand, motives of terrorists in targeting tourists, using tourism as a political tool, the effects of political violence on destination image, crisis management, and recovery marketing efforts. The intent of this article is to synthesize research on these relationships, to prevent a comprehensive index of relevant publications, and to suggest topics for future research. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All right reserved.