Political Impacts on Tourism

As politics play a major role around the world, relationships with other countries from your own have a strong impact on the tourism industry for some. Through films and clips like Argo and YouTube clips about Iran, one can understand the underlying stigmas that stand with many travelers around the world based on different relationships. As this does not matter to some, others are really influenced by the relationship that holds between your home country and the one you want to travel to. As these films showed thought-provoking experiences from different perspectives, I think it is very important to see how other residents from communities around the world perceive different countries based on affairs and prior history. Throughout this blog, I will provide my thoughts on this sector of the industry and discuss the impacts on tourism overall.

When looking at certain destinations, many gain this “perspective” of how they view this certain place or destination. This perspective can sometimes occur from how Hollywood makes some of these locations look and seem. More often than not, films often personify the location for the best or the worse often based on political views from the US. According to a research paper conducted by professors from the University of North Texas, they found that there is a positive correlation between how perception is affected by the personification of many hot tourist spots. Where it be positive or negative, it often shapes the view one has and allows them to create their own belief from others. This is very skewed and allows for a lot of misrepresentation of many places often based on political biases.

When putting this into a personal perspective, I find this very daunting that media can have such a big impact on beliefs about a certain destination. When I think of places that I want to travel around the world, I often fight this battle in my head that either has a good or bad perspective based on prior knowledge. More often than not, I try to put aside these differences to view the culture as a community and a spot to gain new perspectives and rich experiences. A country like Iran is so poorly perceived by the American people, yet many only know the history that occurred a while back. As many of the policies that Iran has supported deter me, I know that the battle and lack of relationships between countries has little to do with the people, environment and the community within. As Iran would not be my top choice of travel, I think Americans should feel safe to travel to any destinations despite the political affairs leaders in government have created. Working against these countries not only create a divide but a new perception often based on political malarkey.

Not only does these political indifferences entice me to visit these countries but allows me to see the good that exists in each country overall. While political factors play a case for many, I think that traveling to the destination due to inspiration and experience is what will drive me to my future destinations. I think it is very important to be able to feel safe in this destination, so making sure intensive research is done on safety rather than politics is the main influence for me. Despite histories with the countries, making sure that you can successful get back and forth while knowing your resources in that place is key. I would not NOT travel to a country based on history that can date back centuries and decades. Being able to live in the moment and do what truly feels best and safe to you is my main objective when traveling to foreign destinations.

In preparing for a future trip to one of these destinations skewed by political indifference, I would first do significant research on it. Making sure there are not travel restrictions and laws prohibiting the entrance to this country is important, as international affairs often become very sticky situation. In addition, having resources planned prior such as methods of communication (in-person and over mobile) is very important as language barriers often persist. From a translators to emergency services, making sure that you can interact with others is crucial, otherwise you may find yourself out of luck overall. making sure you have the proper vaccinations is crucial as well, as many countries have diseases and viruses in their country that the US doesn’t. Overall, preparing for a destination that has tensions with your government can be tough, but achievable as long as you ensure the proper methods before traveling.

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Looking into an article I found in relation to political impacts on tourism, it discusses the relationship between the Australian and Chinese government. This article notes that there was a discrepancy between the governments saying that when you travel to Australia from China you will face racial discrimination. The prime minister from Australia endorsed tourism to their country and denied the allegations.