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Case study: The impact of terrorism on France as a popular tourist destination Introduction In the years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York, the world has been subjected to an increasing number of terrorism-related incidents. Destinations in Europe, once considered safe, have been selected as prime terrorism targets in more recent years. France has enjoyed the number one position as the most visited destination in the world for over 20 years (Abadi, 2019). This popular tourist haven has experienced at least 12 major terrorism-related events between 2012 and 2018, many of which have specifically targeted tourists. Visitor arrival figures indicate that 89 million international tourists entered the country during 2018, a 3% increase from the previous year and these tourists' direct contribution to France's GDP was US$67 billion (UNWTO, 2019). The travel and tourism industry represents 9.7% of France's GDP, with 30% of tourism revenue gained from international tourists, while the remaining 70% is from domestic tourism. Tourism consumption (both by domes- tic and international tourists) represents approximately 7.5% of the nation's GDP, with direct and indirect tourism-related employment accounting for over 2 million jobs (OECD, 2018). Tourism is obviously a major contributor to the economy and the threat of increased terrorism, particularly over the last decade, has the potential to jeopardise future visitation. Key reasons for visitation to France and Paris Over 89 million international tourists visited France during 2018 (see Figure 11.1) motivated largely by its appealing city lights, romantic image, world class gastron- omy, diverse landscape and its array of cultural and heritage sites. Disneyland, the Louvre Museum, the Eiffel Tower, Chateau de Versailles and Centre Pompidou are amongst the most popular tourist sites visited. The Louvre Museum, featuring the Mona Lisa, drew a record 10.2 million visitors in 2018, more than any other museum in the world (Louvre, 2018). FRANCE - Inbound Arrivals (in Millions) 92 90 88 86 84 82 80 78 76 74 72 70 11 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Figure 11.1: Inbound arrivals to France 2010-2018 (millions). Source: UNWTO, 2019.
France's diverse landscape of mountains, beaches and rural countryside, including popular winter ski resorts like Chamonix and Val d'Isère, the beaches of the French Rivera and wine regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne, appeal to visitors all year round. Approximately 24 million foreign tourists visit Bordeaux, Burgundy and France's other wine regions each year (Regional Tourism Committee, 2019). Cul- turally, France is home to 39 sites on UNESCO's World Heritage list, placing it equal fourth in the global rankings (UNESCO, 2019). The gastronomic cuisine of the French is also listed on UNESCO's world intangible heritage list, recognising the social culture of the French, including the way in which they gather around a table celebrating the most important moments in their lives (Samuel, 2010). In addition to its 34 international airports, France is accessible by land from eight different countries. Together with its reliable and easily accessible public transport, this makes it popular amongst international travellers. Approximately 40% of inter- national arrivals originate from the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium (OECD, 2018). Additionally, it is estimated that between 15 and 20 million of the country's visitors are just passing through en-route to its European neighbours Italy or Spain. Crisis history summary Terrorism acts commenced throughout Western Europe during the 1970s with France experiencing a number of attacks during the 1990s, primarily in association with the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) (Rault, 2010). Those nations supporting the Algerian Gov- ernment, following the 1991 elections, became prime targets by the GIA and other 'home grown' covert Islamic groups. The 1990s attacks demonstrated to the French Government the degree of sophistication that such terrorist groups were capable of (Rault, 2010). Since the 1990s the French population had become accustomed to living under the threat of terrorism, however, the implementation of counterter- rorism activities had proved effective in combating any subsequent attacks up until 2012 (Rault, 2010). Between 2012 and 2018, France experienced over 25 terrorism-related events (see Table 11.1) with 2015 and 2016 undoubtedly two of the worst years. Today's Islamic terrorist groups continue to share a similar ideology to those in the 1990s, which conflicts with democracy and any form of social and political progress (Rault, 2010).
Table 11.1: History of terrorism incidents in France 2012-2018 Date Location and Incident Casualties 2012: 11-22 March Toulouse and Montauban: Shooting 7 killed 2013:23 May Paris: Soldier attacked at La Defence 2014:20 December Joue-les-Tours: Knife attack on police officer 1 killed 2014:21 December Dijon: Pedestrians ran down 11 injured 2014: 22 December Nantes: Pedestrians ran down at a Christmas market 10 injured 2015: 7 January Paris: Charlie Hebdo Office shootings 12 killed 2015: 8 January Paris: Shooting 5 killed 2015: 3 February Nice: Soldiers Attacked at Jewish Centre 3 injured 2015: 26 June Grenoble: Beheading at chemical factory 1 killed 2015: 21 August Paris: Armed gunman on train averted 3 injured 2015: 13 November Paris: Series of simultaneous attacks 130 killed 2016: 13 June Paris: Home Attack on police commander and wife 2 killed 2016: 14 July Nice: Pedestrians ran down on Bastille Day 85 killed 2016: 26 July Rouen: Hostages held in a Catholic Church 1 killed 2016: 8 September Essonne: Anti-terror operation 1 injured 2017: 3 February Paris: Machete armed man arrested 2017: 16 March Paris, France: Letter Bomb 1 injured 2017: 18 March Paris, France: Police officer attacked at Orly Airport 1 injured 2017: 20 April Paris: Police officers attacked 2017: 6 June Paris: Attack on police officer at Notre Dame Cathedral 2017: 19 June Paris: Police vehicle rammed at Champs-Elysees 1 killed 2017: 9 August Paris: Soldier barracks rammed by a car 6 injured 2017: 1 October Marseille: Young girls attacked at Saint Charles Station 2 killed 2018:23 March Trebes: Supermarket hostages 2018: 12 May Paris: Knife attack Palais Garnier 1 killed 2018: 11 December Strasbourg: Christmas markets attack 3 killed Source: BBC, 2016; The Telegraph, 2018. The French government's 'Action Plan against Radicalisation and Terrorism' was introduced in May 2016 and designed to strengthen its predecessor, the 'Action Plan Against Terrorist Networks and Violent Radicalisation developed against violent radi- calisation in 2014. Increased funding and an increased number of action items are amongst key additions, in an attempt to design a global strategy (Uhlmann, 2018). In a response to changing security challenges amidst repeated terrorism incidents between 2016 and 2018, a new action plan was introduced again in 2018, entitled 'Action Plan Against Terror' (General Secretariat for Defence and National Security, 2018). Further adaptations of the 2016 action plan were required due to the changing nature of recent terrorist attacks experienced by the nation, including the formation of a new organisation called 'National Coordination of Intelligence and Counterter- rorism, increased human resources dedicated to monitoring potential threats, rein- forcement of background checks, a new automated personal data processing system and appointing an ambassador for digital technology responsible for cyber security measures (French Government, 2018). The French government recognises terrorism as an evolving long-term threat to its nation which will require constant monitoring and adaptations to the policies developed in their response to terrorism.
Tourist visitation impact A 2.2% drop in tourist visitor numbers to metropolitan France in 2016 was reported due to fears of further terror attacks, with concerns primarily amongst Chinese (down 21.5%) and Japanese tourists (down 41.2%) (Hosie, 2017). Europeans appeared less deterred (British down 8.6% and Spanish down 9.9%) with the USA reported as being the least affected (down by 4.9%). This reduction in visitation following the 2015 and 2016 terror incidents was disappointing, but was not as severe as expected (Regional Tourism Committee, 2017). Visitation figures by the end of 2016 resembled those recorded at year end in 2014 and in terms of visitor flows, France maintained their position as the world's most visited country (OECD, 2018). Domestic tourists were recorded as being the first to return, followed by the USA and Chinese tourists. The higher value of the euro currency at the time may also be considered to have influenced visitation, particularly making it more attractive for USA tourists to visit Europe. Not all international markets rebounded as quickly however, with the Japa- nese tourist market recorded as being slower to return. The French government allocated 10 million euros to promote France as a tourist destination in 2016. Their aim was to restore a sense of safety and security in the public by implementing tighter security measures around the cities and major tourist attractions, including having police and soldiers visibly patrolling the streets (Schreuer, 2017). Furthermore, tourism initiatives focusing on rural tourism devel- opment and bicycle tourism were developed, in the hope of diversifying Frances' tourism offering (OECD, 2018). The short-term tourism impact experienced by France demonstrates that there appears to be a level of acceptance amongst tourists in relation to terrorism risk. Tourists seem to be prepared to live with some level of danger when travelling to popular world cities, such as Paris, and recognise they will never be completely safe (Schreuer, 2017). Terrorism is certainly in travellers' minds but overall, it appears to not be enough to stop them completely from travelling to popular world cities, such as Paris. Discussion questions 1 Identify factors contributing to France's ability to continually attract large numbers of tourist visitation. 2 From a tourism crisis perspective, what measures does France have in place to protect the nation and its visitors? 3 View France's 2018 'Action Plan Against Terrorism' (http://www.sgdsn.gouv.fr/ uploads/2018/10/20181004-plan-d-action-contre-le-terrorisme-anglais.pdf) and identify key counterterrorism initiatives. 4 How do you think terrorism will impact future visitation to France?