Media v Tourism

1. “The media kill off
tourism more
effectively than
terrorists. Discuss”
By Georgi Dianov Georgiev
JO7002 Journalism in context: law, ethics and the industry Ethics essay assignment
4/26/2016

2. "The media kill off tourism more
effectively than terrorists. Discuss"
Terrorism, tourism and the media use each other to fuel fear into audiences. This means that
everyone becomes vulnerable to terrorism, which simultaneously attracts global media’s attention
through attacks on tourists or the tourist infrastructure. As a result, there is an impact in the travel
industry as tourists avoid destinations.
The insecurity that tourists feel just by leaving their country is magnified when a terrorist attack
occurs and the overindulgence of media attention creates world-wide fear. Because the media
(which determine the information society is given) produces an imaginative image within the minds
of tourists, it easily manipulates a country as being violent and dangerous.
Because tourism is the main source of income for almost 50 per cent of the world’s countries, it
makes the industry an irresistible object of attack. The public will witness more terrorism than ever
due to the ability of the media to cover terrorist attacks (Paraskevas and Arendell, 2007). With this,
terrorists secure media attention when tourists are affected by terrorism. Straight away, the
terrorist attack is immediately documented by the media and becomes worldwide news. Then, it is
safe to say that the effect of terrorism on the tourism industry is negative, eradicating instantly the
motivation of tourists to travel. But it gets especially worse with the influence of mass media that
follows terrorist attacks. Perhaps a decrease in the publicity of terrorist attacks can affect tourism to
a lesser extent. However, if the media reduce the level of publicity, useful to the tourism industry, it
would throw up complications through legal matters such as misinforming the public (Taylor (2006,
p.170).
Thanks to technology, news can spread across continents. But this can be dangerous because media
entities play a dual role when terrorist activities happen. Terrorists use the media to convey their
message to international audiences, and on the other hand, the general public relies upon the media

3. for information (O’Connor, Stafford & Gallagher, 2008). On account of this, constant, global media
coverage means that society applies their faulty probabilistic reasoning to a global supply of
anecdotes. Thus, the intense media coverage has made terrorism a much powerful and effective
tactic than it was in the twentieth century (Mack, 2005).
Going back in time, terrorism problem in Europe was much worse in the 1970s and ‘80s than it is
nowadays (Gilbert, 2004). Taking as an example the 85 people that died in the train station bombing
in Bologna (Italy), which did not enter international consciousness. Today, a bombing in a Brussels
metro station is drummed into people’s heads through constant stories and vivid pictures (Hall,
2002).
It is because of this why the escalation of terrorism has been linked to mass communication and its
instantaneous access to a global audience since 1970. Undoubtedly, this is vital information that will
influence decisions in regard to travel. Because of exaggeration by the media, the impacts of terrorist
acts on the market are often taken out of proportion. Disaster scenarios lead to misinformation, due
to the disruptions to networks of communications systems as a result of an attack or overload
(O’Connor et al., 2008). This, combined with the pressure of deadlines that media entities are under
has them scrambling to get the publication out (even if it has misleading information).
In fact, terrorism is the weapon of the weak and its use shows a certain level of desperation.
According to Sönmez and Graefe (1998), groups using terrorism seldom win concessions. It is
therefore no surprise that The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is resorting to terrorism in
Europe in present days. A particularly intriguing point should be made as to whether, if terrorist
attacks were to become less documented and gain less media attention, would this have any
repercussion upon the number of attacks?
Analysing the most recent terrorist attacks, it should be pointed out the effect of media coverage on
tourism in areas such as Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Sousse (Tunisia) and Paris (France). Shocking
videos and images of the victims were used as front pages and key material from the press to give
more real information to the public. Some suggest that modern day terrorists and the media have
become inevitably linked by means of mutual benefit. Others believe that acts of terrorism provide
sensational news stories that effectively boost audience figures and ratings (Wilkinson, 1997).
The killings at a Tunisian museum and on a beach; the downing of a Russian aircraft flying home from
Sharm el-Sheikh; and lethal attacks in Paris on people from many countries attending a concert and a
football match, made 2015 a dreadful year for the murder of tourists. According to “ForwardKeys”,
a travel-data research firm, airlines reported more cancellations than bookings.

4. It is more than evident that there was going to be a drop in the number of visitors after all of the
attacks. But what is the effect of this? Richer nations like France recover faster from terrorism, while
countries such as Egypt or Tunisia suffer long-term damage. At the same time, the attacks in Paris
inspired a new kind of fear. Instead of being the tourists concerned that they will be targeted simply
for being tourists, the general population faces the spectre of an attack at any given time. Moreover,
there are differences between the various attacks. November’s Paris attacks were aimed at the
general population. The Sharm el-Sheikh and Tunisian assaults specifically targeted tourists.
Therefore, the question that should be outlined is why is the media fuelling terrorism?
All of the three terrorist attacks were covered for more than the usual time. The media broadcasted
description of the situation in details which brings us knowledge and a contribution to a moral panic.
For over a week, newspapers, television and the internet were posting “heartbroken” information.
Thanks to the real citizen photos, the public knew the event was of a high importance and everyone
was following the development of the story for its own safety and knowledge. Considering terrorist
motives to disrupt tourism, media coverage of violence involving tourists is likely to be extremely
gratifying to terrorist groups (Mansfeld and Pizam, 2006).
When Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, she called the media the “oxygen” of terrorism. She
believed that terrorists focus on societies where publicity is not controlled by the government and
where their attack will be mediated around the globe. Weimann and Winn (1994, p. 152-165) added:
“Media coverage of terrorist events has an especially powerful potential influence because it is
frequently the only source of information on an issue available to the audience, and a source of
interpretation. In particular, the general public is apt to rely to an enormous degree on media
accounts for an understanding of terrorists' motives, the implications of their actions, and the
essential character of the situation.”

5. Historically, the impacts of similar attacks on tourism are short-lived provided authorities take the
proper steps in their aftermath. According to Kepel (2002), terrorism has devastating impacts on
both tourists and the destination and some destinations take longer to recover than others. David
Scowsill, president and CEO of the World Tourism & Travel Council stated that people’s memories
are very short about these incidents and countries take about six to nine months to recover from
terrorist attacks”.
Nowadays, due to the citizen journalism, there is an argument concerning whether society has to be
flooded by the mass media with such a detailed information. Media role is debatable. It plays a huge
part in the contribution of travel decisions made in relation to the perceptions of terrorism on
tourist destinations. The media and terrorists converge to aid each other in the effort to
communicate with the audience; the media achieves higher ratings and terrorists achieve their goal
of publicity (Hall, 2002). Does this mean that media wipes out tourism more effectively than
terrorism?
Naturally, mass media in any form are detrimental to destination image and, as a result, to tourist
flows. The mass media willingly or unwittingly are the spokesmen of the terrorists. Frey (2004) says
that dramatic terrorist actions receive huge media attention. Hence, it is strongly agreed that the
way in which the media present what has happened will affect tourism. If the media were to present
a very negative image and show that danger is still occurring, tourists will not return (Taylor, 2006).
Furthermore, it is possible that the media’s influence can encourage tourists to visit some places.
O'Sullivan (1986) states that if the media were not there to report on terrorism, then people would

6. not receive the messages of political and social influences caused. Because of the media, terrorist
attacks are so well known across the world. Many people travel to sites of terrorism to pay respects
for those that lost their lives. Without being told of these events through the media, people may not
know and would not travel to such destinations. According to Essner (2003), terrorism only affects
the generation of people in which it takes place. People who were keen tourists at that time may
have been discouraged by terrorism. However, when they grow up and stop travelling and new
younger generations start to be the main travellers, some countries may start to see more visitors
again due to a lack of knowledge of what actually happened at that time.
In some cases the attention of the media to some destinations seems to be rather unfair, especially
for the third world countries that are actually dependent on tourism. Western media seems to be
especially keen on exaggerating the notion of danger in destinations that are politically "difficult" (for
example Egypt) towards western countries (Schmid, 2004). Butler (1990) discusses the influence of
oral, literary and visual media on image formation from a historical perspective, but does not delve
into the effects of mass media on the destination image.
Accordingly, negative media coverage of a destination can contribute to the "outer field" of potential
travellers’ perceived environment. Ehemann (1977) objects to “value-laden” statements used by
print media, which can convey a value judgment about a destination and which can potentially
contribute to a negative evaluation of that destination. Examining the mutual reliance between mass
media and terrorists, there is a huge impact of mass media on public perceptions, concluding that a
symbiotic relationship exists between terrorists and journalists.
Thus, it appears to be a mutual relationship between the media and terrorism in that they both rely
on each other to achieve their goals. Terrorists want world-wide publicity and the media want

7. increased viewer ratings. Terrorists are becoming increasingly better known, feared by the public
and admired by associates (Pizam and Fleischer (2002). Western societies are therefore targeted.
Abhorrent attacks and fear is publicized with no overruling power held by bureaucracies. This helps
terrorists to achieve their goals of bringing down governments, creating massive shock waves
through capitalist societies and drawing attention to their causes and beliefs.

8. “Terrorists can do whatever to fulfil their demands, attacking tourists, tourist centres to media
publicity and public attention” (White 2014, 102-126). White also specified that international
tourism can attract the international media because terrorism had made it for their victim. The fear
of terrorism will cease when the media stops reporting, especially when a terrorist attack takes
place in a destination that has no previous incidents. However, the principal role of media in
incidents of a similar kind is crucial and it can shift the attention in both ways.
Sönmez (1998) also pointed out that terrorists and media benefit from one another. “Media gets
more attention and viewers while terrorist attacks take place and at the same time the people
behind the attacks get their message through to larger audiences than they would without the mass
media” (Sönmez, 1998, p. 434-446). Coles and Hall (2011) articulated that media also has a role in
the portrayal of the terrorists and how they are stereotyped. They say that because of small groups
and with the assistance of the media, the whole nation can be branded as terrorists. This leads to
social exclusion in outside of their own community, making it harder for them to cross international
borders and easily sparkling racism.
According to Essner (2003), although terrorism is covered by the media, it could also be suggested
that it depends on how bad the attacks were for the media to report it. He also suggested that it is
up to how tourists perceive terrorism and its risks portrayed by the media. “The media are the
cause of terrorist attacks (Kellner (2005). Media needs terrorism in order to survive through human
concern reporting and terrorism needs the media to generate, as he terms 'Weapons of Mass
Hysteria'.
Following the reasoning of Korstanje (2011), mass media “echoes” the news of a particular attack,
emphasizing the number of children and women died because capitalist society represents their most
precious resource (women and children): threatening them is similar as attacking the legal and

9. symbolic scaffolding. Besides, Gerges (2007) stated that journalists should adopt an approximation
which will differentiate between varieties of the Islamic politic – this will contribute to national
security and the civil dialogue. Because the reality after creating a state of fear is that people become
more radical towards foreigners and especially Muslims. Luis Veres (2011), a doctor from the
University of Valencia, has similar thinking. He says that “We all should agree that terrorists require
necessarily hype so that they can complete their purpose”. The absence of the mass media remains
limited many local civil conflicts and they could perhaps be solved by political means without
recurring to violence (Gil Calvo, 2003, p. 237-245).
However, due to technological progress, the speed of the media for moving news around the world
is just abysmal. But the problem is not in the speed - is in the words. Words must be chosen
carefully as each person gives them different meaning and, without realizing, millions agree with a
comment that has not been interpreted as it was planned, or, on the contrary, the main idea from
the one who wrote it was to create alarm and paranoia among the population (Johnston, 2008). But
how do terrorists truly want media coverage?
It is true that media coverage helps to stimulate interest, but only up to a point. People will not click
on to a story unless they really want to. Contradictory news, half-truths or widespread manipulation
can be perceived for example on television or newspapers. This makes it really hard to have trust
onto any information given by the mass media. What is more, contradictions could be clarified after
a couple of hours or days (Howie, 2012). Yet, unarguable is the failure of mainstream media when
telling clearly the truth.
One of the facts that really attract attention in relation to the Paris attacks last November 13 is the
new role of the media. They not only offer the terrorist attacks live and direct – they are even
capable of interviewing the main terrorists while carrying out the assault, contributing once again in
creating those attacks in a huge TV spectacle. This gives room to a new retransmission field – selling
media products. Perhaps, it might be now possible to produce any kind of drama in order to
originate more spectacle and morbid interest: a new advertising dose for society to increase
emotional impacts in regard to the future (Carvajal, 2015).
In social media, Facebook members posted that the media hype surrounding the deplorable events in
France should not distract us from the fact that these things happen all the time all over the world.
Others had a supportive go, turning their profile pictures to the “Tricolore”. When language
narratives and Facebook encourage flag filters in solidarity with one tragedy, why they did not react
in the same way with Sousse or Sharm el-Sheikh?

10. Media landscape is not equitable. One cannot avoid the impression that “white” victims are being
humanized in a way Arab victims are not. It is not enough to blame readers who show less interest
in news from Sharm el-Sheikh than from Paris – they do not write headlines. Until stories are crafted
with similar intentions, claims of neutrality on the part of the media ring hollow (Boniface, 2012).
The media make viewers change. The mentality on social media in modern days is “share now to
show you care, think later”. Recently, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) released a report
which found an increasing number of children believe everything they read on the internet. Eight per
cent of youths surveyed said they now go to YouTube to find out what is going on in the world,
while only a third were able to identify paid-for adverts (Carvajal, 2015).
When talking about the media and the direct impact this can have on people's travel decisions, the
“word of mouth” should also be mentioned because it influences tourist’s behaviour. For instance, if
any friends or relatives have had a bad experience or have strong negative views on a destination,
this will discourage and influence travel decisions (Page and Connell, 2009). To some degree media is
also responsible for building such views.

11. The main reasons why tourism is such a favourable target for terrorism is because of the
camouflage, safety for terrorists and a desire of perpetrators to be provided with a higher profile in
the media (Cooper et al., 2008). Tourism is dependent on positive images and publicity as the
negative image of any holiday destination results in reduced tourist activity and economic damage to
the tourism industry (Page and Connell, 2009).
In essence, the media appear to help terrorists achieve their goals, producing more fear and further
reducing tourism rates by damaging a destination image of safety. Media is one of the most important
factors in regard to helping tourism industries develop and plays a vital role promoting the
destination image toward the people (Hall & Wiley 2002). It should reduce its attention on
terrorism in order to prevent more attacks.

12. References
1. Atkins, B., Chew, J.K., Gschwind, D., & Parker, A. (2003). The impact of terrorism on tourism and
hospitality business: An online debate by experts in the field. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 4(3),
262-67.
2. Baker, K., & Coulter, A. (2007). Terrorism and tourism: The vulnerability of beach vendors
3. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15(3), 249-66. Diaz, D. (2001). The viability and sustainability of
international tourism in developing countries. Symposium on Tourism Services, 1-21. Geneva: World
Tourism Organization.
4. Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (1996). Terrorism and foreign direct investment in Spain and Greece.
Kyklos, 49, 331-352.
5. Henderson, J.C. (2008). Terrorism and international tourism: new evidence. Defence and Peace
Economics, 19(2), 169-188.
Martin, G. (2010) Essentials of terrorism, concepts and controversies second edition.
6. O‟Connor, N., Stafford, M.R., & Gallagher, G. (2008). The impact of global terrorism on tourism
industry: An industry perspective. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(4), 351-63.
7. Sonmez, S., & Graefe, A. (1998). Influence of terrorism risk on foreign tourism decisions. Annals of
Tourism Research, 25(1), 112-144.
8. Tarlow, P.E. (2011). Tourism Risk Management in an Age of Terrorism. Economia Autonoma, IV(7),
pp. 1-13.
9. Pizam, A., and Fleischer, A. (2002). Severity versus Frequency of Acts of Terrorism: Which Has a
Larger Impact on Tourism Demand? Journal of Travel Research, 40(3), pp. 337-339.
10. Weimann, G. (2008). The Psychology of Mass-Mediated Terrorism. American Behavioural Scientist,
52(1), pp. 69-86.
11. Sönmez, S. and A.R. Graefe (1998). Influence of Terrorism Risk on Foreign Tourism Decisions.
Annals of Tourism Research, 25(1):112-144.
12. Taylor, P.A (2006) Getting Them to Forgive and Forget: Cognitive Based Market Responses to
Terrorist Attacks. International Journal of Tourism Research [online]. Issue 8.
13. Wilkinson, P. (1997) The Media and Terrorism: A Reassessment. Terrorism and Political Violence
[online]. 9(2) pp.51-64.
14. Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D. and Wanhill, S. (2008) Tourism: Principles and Practice,
4th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
15. Page, S. J. and Connell, J. (2009) Tourism: A Modern Synthesis, 3rd ed. UK: Cengage Learning.
16. Henderson, C, J. (2007) Tourism Crises: causes, consequences and management, Boston:
Butterworth-Heinemann

13. Kepel, G. (2002) Jihad: the trail of political Islam, Cambridge: Harvard University Press
Cooper, C. (2008) Tourism Principles and Practice, Harlow: Longman
17. Cooper, C., Fletcher, J., Fyall, A., Gilbert, D. and Wanhill, S. (2008) Tourism: Principles and Practice,
4th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
18. Mansfeld, Y. and Pizam, A. (2006) Tourism, Security and Safety. Oxford: Elsevier Inc.
19. Page, S. J. and Connell, J. (2009) Tourism: A Modern Synthesis, 3rd ed. UK: Cengage Learning.
20. Sönmez, S.F. (1998). Tourism, Terrorism and Political Instability. Annals of Tourism Research. 25
(2), pp.416-456.
21. Coles, T. & Hall, M. (2011). Rights and regulation of travel and tourism mobility. Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure & Events. 3 (3), pp.209-223.
22. Kepel, Gilles (2002). Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam. trans. Anthony F. Roberts (1st ed.).
23. White, J. 2008. Terrorism and Homeland Security.
24. Coles, T. & Hall, M. (2011). Rights and regulation of travel and tourism mobility. Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure & Events. 3 (3), pp.209-223.
25. Taylor, P.A (2006) Getting Them to Forgive and Forget: Cognitive Based Market Responses to
Terrorist Attacks. International Journal of Tourism Research [online]. Issue 8.
26. Atkins, B., Chew, J.K., Gschwind, D., & Parker, A. (2003). The impact of terrorism on tourism and
hospitality business: An online debate by experts in the field.
27. Enders, W., & Sandler, T. (1996). Terrorism and foreign direct investment in Spain and Greece.
Kyklos, 49, 331-352.
28. Henderson, J.C. (2008). Managing crises: UK civil aviation, BAA airports and the August 2006
terrorist threat. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(2), 125-136. Llorca-Vivero, R. (2008).
Terrorism and international tourism: new evidence. Defence and Peace Economics, 19(2), 169-188.
29. Martin, G. (2010) Essentials of terrorism, concepts and controversies second edition. California:
Sage.
O‟Connor, A., & Schmitt, E. (2009, December 25)
30. Sonmez, S., & Graefe, A. (1998). Influence of terrorism risk on foreign tourism decisions. Annals of
Tourism Research, 25(1), 112-144.
31. Yaya, M. (2009). Terrorism and tourism: the case of Turkey. Defence and Peace Economics, 20(6),
477-497.
32. Tarlow, P.E. (2011). Tourism Risk Management in an Age of Terrorism. Economia Autonoma, IV(7),
pp. 1-13.
33. Pizam, A., and Fleischer, A. (2002). Severity versus Frequency of Acts of Terrorism: Which Has a
Larger Impact on Tourism Demand? Journal of Travel Research, 40(3), pp. 337-339.
34. Weimann, G. (2008). The Psychology of Mass-Mediated Terrorism. American Behavioural Scientist,
52(1), pp. 69-86.

14. 35. Hall, C. (2002) ‘Travel safety, terrorism and the media; the significance of the issue attention cycle’,
Current Issues in Tourism, 5, 5, pp. 458-466.
36. Fazlur-rahman. Holdschlag, A. (2011) ‘War, terror and tourism; impact of violent events on
international tourism in Chitral, Pakistan’, Tourism (Zagreb), vol. 59, no. 4, pp. 465-479.
37. Freyer, W. Schroder, A. (2007) ‘Tourism and terrorism: an analytical framework with special focus
on the media’ Crisis management in Tourism, p.129-141.
38. Beirman, D. (2003) Egypt: Terrorist Attacks Against Tourists. Restoring Tourism Destinations in
Crisis: Strategic Marketing Approach. Pp69-76
39. Conrad, D.K., Weng, S.C., Lai, L.C., Sun,. Y.C., and Wu. C.C. (2005). The Egyptian Travel and
Tourism Industry: Recovering from Terrorism. The Egyptian Travel and Tourism Industry: Recovering
from Terrorism, pp1-18
40. El-Tablawy, T., Schreck, A., Halaby, J., Yacoub, S.N., Koenig, D., and Mroue, B. (2011). Egypt's
Economy hurt as Travellers avoid the unrest. New Hampshire Journal
41. Essner, J. (2003). Terrorism's Impact on Tourism: What the Industry may learn from Egypt's
Struggle with al-Gama'a al-Islamiya. IPS 668 - Security Department. Dec 2003, pp10-14
42. Coles, T. & Hall, M. (2011). Rights and regulation of travel and tourism mobility. Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure & Events. 3 (3), pp.209-223.
43. Henderson, C. J. (2003) Terrorism and Tourism, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, Vol. 15
(1), pp. 41-58.
44. Paraskevas, A. and Arendell, B. (2007) A Strategic Framework for Terrorism Prevention and
Mitigation in Tourism Destinations, Tourism Management, Vol. 28, pp. 1560-1573.
45. Pizam, A. and Smith, G. (2000) Tourism and Terrorism: A Quantative Analysis of Major Terrorist
Acts and their Impact on Tourism Destinations, Tourism Economics, Vol. 16 (2), pp. 123-138.