Terrorism and international tourism: New evidence

This paper analyses the impact of terrorist activity on international tourist flows. To this end, we have estimated a cross-sectional gravity equation for tourism from the G-7 countries to a sample of 134 destinations over the period 2001-2003. Within this framework, we evaluate the deviation from 'normal' tourist flows due to terrorist activity, which is considered as negative advertising for the affected country. The analysis suggests that both domestic victims and international attacks are relevant factors when foreign tourists make their choice. This result is robust under alternative specifications. Moreover, the impact of terrorism is more severe in developing countries.