Despite the vast amount of information in mass media regarding terrorism, little service is given to the vast economic impact that terrorism has on a country. Terrorism can affect many of a nation's industries, particularly those related to tourism and travel. Particularly affected are developing and third-world countries whose national economies are frequently reliant on tourism for national income. Kenya, Yemen, Egypt, and other African nations are particularly hard-hit by terrorism-induced industrial issues. However, statistics also show evidence that such problems are temporary at worst. .
The $476 billion that tourism generated as recently as the year 2000 speaks of its irrefutable impact on our global economy. This statistic was generated by the World Tourism Organization (WTO). The impact of terrorism on a country's economy can be vast and have led to such economic and social ills as unemployment, deflation, and crime. .
Adam Blake and M. Thea Sinclair found that ".the repercussions went beyond activities directly associated with tourism, specifically airlines, hotels and catering, and that all sectors of the economy are affected to some extent." (Blake and Sinclair, 2002).
Tourism is a service industry and is comprised of several elements, including transportation, accommodation and merchandising. Terrorism, on the other hand, as defined by The U.S Department of State, is, in part, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets, in many cases tourists. .
The country of Kenya serves as an excellent example of an underdeveloped country very hard hit by terrorism's" effect. Tourism is 12% of the GNP in Kenya and accounts for over $500 million in annual revenue and 500,000 jobs. (Kenya, CIA World Fact Book).
The bombing of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998 and of a beach hotel in Mombasa in 2002, as well as a missile strike against a charter flight of Israeli tourists, has caused governments around the world to warn their citizens against travel to Kenya.
