Panic! The effect of travel advisories on tourism after terrorism

Sri Lanka-based villa agent Jack Eden calls for the travel & tourism industry to work proactively to dampen the devastating effects of travel advisories that exacerbate the human and economic damage of terrorism.

I wish to share my views — and listen to those of my peers — in relation to what role travel advisories play in the fight against terrorism. Used as they have been for travel to Sri Lanka recently, are they the right response? What role can we in the travel & tourism industry play?

Let me start with a moment of reflection and remember those who have been so cruelly killed in recent times by terrorism. Journeying through this life seeking to harm no one, innocent people have been murdered at work, at play, at prayer, or at meals. None deserved it and let us never forget them.

According to ourworldindata.org some 13,000 people were killed by acts of terror in 2010; in 2017 this number grew to a frightening 26,445 (6,476 and 6,092 in Iraq and Afghanistan respectively). However, when stating this figure the data editors used the adjective ‘only’ — “terrorism only killed 13,000 in 2010”. This is not to be cavalier but to put the number into context. According to Oxfam some 8 million children under 5 died in 2011; 6 million people died from tobacco; 2.8 million from obesity; 782,000 from suicide, and so on.

From the fear spread by some politicians and media we could be forgiven for thinking terrorism was the highest cause of premature death, rather than ranked 15th (2010). But terrorism fatalities are on the rise and foreign governments’ reactions to attacks, in the form of travel advisories, have a direct impact on the livelihoods of many more people than those killed.

Tragically, 258 people were killed during the April 21, 2019 attacks in Sri Lanka.

Most were Sri Lankan. I make this distinction because ... Full story at https://goodtourismblog.com/2019/05/panic-effect-of-travel-advisories-on-tourism-after-terrorism/