Mass tourism, mass marketing massacre - TravelMole


Mass tourism, mass marketing massacre

Sunday, 24 Nov, 2015 0

There is only one thing that matters to tourism this week. Events in Paris and subsequently in Belgium have again put tourism in the ‘potential danger’ category.

The fact is that if you’re a terrorist looking for quick, mass global news coverage, slaughtering innocent people – preferably tourists – will get you immediate, powerful results.

Unfortunately for the global travel and tourism industry, the higher the profile of the destination, and the more it is filled with tourists from developed countries, the higher the news value.

The 9/11 attacks on New York in 2001 not only had relatively short-term massive damage to the New York tourism industry but it also put many other destinations in question.

Moreover the security measures enacted as a response to 9/11 have made travel a much more uncomfortable chore rather than the pleasurable activity it once was.

However successful the measures taken against DAESH, the current global perpetrators of terror, now this ruthless marketing formula has been perfected it will not go away – whatever the politicians promise.

So we can all look forward to a world where a billion tourists may be a billion opportunities for terrorists too.

The age of tourism naivety was probably over many years ago, but is certainly dead and buried now.

Of course this is depressing, but there is nothing that anyone can do about it now, so it is best to look at the challenges and opportunities that this situation presents.

It would be sad to surrender to the terrorists unconditionally by throwing away the enormous opportunities that tourism and individual tourists provide for global understanding, communications and peace.

The message offered by the International Institute for Peace through Tourism http://www.iipt.org/ was never more powerful than now and, if supported can help to turn this disaster into many real opportunities for a more healthy tourism industry. If this issue gains more global credibility and support many other such organizations like Tourism for Peace www.tourismforpeace.com may spring up too.

It is also certain that the reaction to this darkening of clouds over the tourism industry, and a revision of destination carrying capacities to recognize security issues, will offer many real opportunities for… less crowded places, minimal impact tourism, more community-managed inclusive offers, it also offers many opportunities for care-based travel agents and tour operators who could look after their clients interests from departure to return arrival.

In other words Sustainable Tourism Practices.

Valere Tjolle

Want to know how? The above is an excerpt from this week’s update of SustainableTourism2015 where the full folio can be obtained

 

 



Related News Stories:  



 

profileimage

Valere



Most Read

Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene

Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee

Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail

Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats

Robert Terrell: A Journey Through BB King’s Influence

Rochelle Hicks: Celebrating Mississippi’s Musical Legacy

Exploring Jacksonville with Katie Mitura: The Flip Side of Florida

Tricia Handley-Hughes of Inteletravel announces the location for the TravelQuest 2025 conference

Insights from James Ferrara on Inteletravel’s Growth and Future

Tricia Handley-Hughes on Inteletravel’s Growth and Challenges

Tony from Gatto’s Pizza on Columbus’s Unique Pizza Trail

Sophia Hyder Hock on Global Social Inclusion in Tourism
TRAINING & COMPETITION

Our emails to you has bounced travelmole.com Or You can change your email from your profile Setting Section

Your region selection will be saved in your cookie for future visits. Please enable your cookie for TravelMole.com so this dialog box will not come up again.

Price Based Country test mode enabled for testing United States (US). You should do tests on private browsing mode. Browse in private with Firefox, Chrome and Safari

true