Research Proposal
Table of Contents
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………4
Problem Statement ………………………………………………………………………………..5
Literature review………………………………………………………………………………….6
Impacts of airline deregulation…………………………………………………………………...7
Socio-cultural impacts of tourism deregulation on national security……………………………..8
Deregulation of immigration and tourism laws………………………………………………….9
Importation of terrorism through the guise of tourism…………………………………………...9
The difference between tourism crime and other types of crime………………………………..10
Crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism…………………………………………………12
Transnationalism and Tourism image…………………………………………………………...14
Background of the study…………………………………………………………………………13
Research methodology…………………………………………………………………………...16
Objectives of the study ………………………………………………………………………….17
Research design……………………………………………………………………………….....17
Target population………………………………………………………………………………..17
Sampling strategy……………………………………………………………………………….18
Data collection tools and instruments…………………………………………………………...18
T-test and Chi-square……………………………………………………………………………18
Expected Results ……………………………………………………………………………….20
Dissection/ Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………20
References ……………………………………………………………………………………..21
Abstract
National security has always been an issue dating back to as early as when man started organizing himself in society. Tourism has become a major pillar of modern-day economies and cultures. This research examines the impact of tourism deregulation or the simplification of government rules and requirements on tourism to national security.
The study will also cover areas on importation of terrorism through tourism; compare tourism crime and other types of crime and finally investigate the changes in crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism. The resident attitudes towards the impacts of deregulation of tourism on national economy will be explored. Questionnaires and simple random sampling will be methods of data collection from the respondents. The data collected will be analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences. The findings of the study will be presented using pie charts and graphs.
Introduction
What are the effects of tourism on the host nation’s national security?
Tourism, as an industry has grown tremendously and countries are making efforts to gain competitive advantage as hot tourist destinations. This has led to the deregulation of tourism by many countries to encourage tourism. This research seeks to identify these impacts on a wider perspective with respect to crimes related to tourism and explore the rate of crime in countries that deregulate tourism. With the world becoming increasingly globalized, the need for national security has been an issue of concern not only in tourism but in other areas as well. This concern is fundamental if nations are to enjoy and promote tourism while protecting national security by preventing tourism crime, terrorism and other threats to a nation’s security caused by tourism deregulation.
Problem Statement
Research and experience have evidenced that tourism is a crucial factor that can contribute greatly to the development of a nation’s economy. In this case, it is worth noting that tourism is directly associated with the cultural, economic and the intellectual potential of any nation. Currently available statistical data indicates that tourism is a leading profit earner in most developing industries in the world and thus the need to protect and uplift the sector without compromising national security of a country. The threat posed on national security, by deregulation policies adopted by countries cannot be ignored. The purpose of this research is to identify these threats and their relatedness with deregulating the tourism sector.
Literature review
According to (WTO), tourism is among the leading five foreign exchange earners in approximately 83% of countries and the main foreign exchange earner for at least 38% of countries globally. In most of these countries, foreign exchange earnings are used to purchase imports and augment reserves. Tourism provides an ideal situation where there is little need to compensate from outside because it grows the local industries and resources. It has a ripple effect on the rest of the economy and any country that realizes the need to come up with innovative strategies to encourage tourists to visit the country is bound to have immense benefits. Stringent laws of immigration turn some tourists away and it has become the norm for most countries to deregulate the market.
Tourism is an exciting and fascinating industry. The industry’s contribution to the national economy is significant. The major threats to this lucrative industry are socio–economic problems related to increased level of crime rates and the depletion of resources or sites and events that attract tourists. Similarly, due to the current rise in terrorist activity, it has become a major concern for the natives of the countries being toured. According to Williams (1997), crime is a common social issue which threatens the safety of the people, property, their sense of well being, in addition to causing entropy to the social order. Crime also reduces people’s quality of life because they are not psychologically at peace and are therefore not able to work as well or as much as they potentially can (Cracraft, 2000).
In all countries of the world associated with popular tourist attractions, crime is a major threat to the economy. In a Newsweek research conducted by Zakaria (2002) tourism safety and security matters are a major headache for governments. It is evident that crime against tourists or associated with tourism is considerably high in hot tourist destinations. This research investigates the extent to which crime has an impact on a nation’s security. It is necessary to analyze the impact of passing legislation that lowers the bar for tourists and whether it has become an avenue for crime and threats to national security.
Impacts of airline deregulation
According to (Fallon, 2002), nations globally have realized that liberal aviation agreements have significant impact on the tourism industries of the signatory parties. Recently, there has been deregulation of airlines leading to the growth of low-cost carriers and overcapacity in airline industry to bolster tourist numbers. Further deregulation of international air travel has seen the tourism industry grow significantly as simplified requirements to visit countries attract tourists. In addition, governments are encouraging movement towards agreements with country blocks or many nations rather than individual nations, to create open skies in different geographic regions. The result of this is that people are able to move across borders with minimal or no paperwork.
For nations to ensure success and growth of airline industry it has become important to adopt aviation policies which are conducive to open skies agreements. This has liberalized air travel beyond existing restraining bilateral agreements among nations. This has an impact on tourism and other industries, as it facilitates the movement of people around the world. For instance the signing of the open skies agreement between the United States and the Philippines deregulated tourism rules. While this is a way of growing the economy, its potential negative effects on national security are far-reaching. The wanton and indiscriminate hosting of people without adequate paperwork carries with it the risk of encouraging criminals and terrorists posing as tourists.
Socio-cultural impacts of tourism deregulation on national security
According to (Blackford, 2002), it is a fact that tourism has a big impact on the economy of a nation, its cultures as well as the ecosystems. Despite this, it is one of the least regulated industries globally. This has opened up destination countries further to the influx of foreign earnings and capital. The trend of deregulation favors major international hotel chains and tour operators while at the same time providing the residents of the country to earn from the resources, whether man-made or natural.
Tourism has long been viewed as the reason for the spread of the global mentality. Cultures and social practices are imported as locals learn from visitors. The lack of adequate background checks on tourists, while offering an ideal protection of the visitor’s privacy poses a problem. The host country is exposed to the risk of allowing individuals of questionable character into the country. Interaction of these individuals with the locals might do more harm than good. The possible causes of some of the security situations include crime related incidents, terrorism, war, and political unrest or instability. The crime related security incidents may be in different forms such as theft, robbery, rape, murder, piracy and kidnapping. Local residents may commit crimes against residents, tourists against locals, tourist against other tourists, or may take other forms such as organized crimes against tourism enterprises.
A specific environmental issue relates to the increased number of planes cruising the skies thus leading to greenhouse effect. Airplanes generate cirrus clouds, which reflect the sun’s rays (Zakaria, 2007). This rise is directly proportional to tourist traffic because airlines tend to increase flights to popular destinations to increase their turnover.
Deregulation of immigration and tourism laws.
It is prudent to note that this research does not in any way imply that attempts to deregulate the market are inn-informed. On the contrary, liberalizing the industry is a crucial step toward achieving the vision of a global village vision and making the world a better place. However, to deregulate without adequately researching the effects and impacts on national security is ill-advised. It is no secret that every country has enemies or people who would want to cause harm to it. While most of these groups or individuals might not make their intentions known, the methods they use to deliver the punch are criminal at the very least. The template is to exploit the weaknesses in the country’s laws and find the opportune moment to strike and send the chilling message.
Issuing visas to all and sundry without checking their backgrounds or requiring adequate and authentic proof of identification might be good for trade, but it is not the least conducive for the security of all affected. Tourists are not required to give detailed schedules of their stays in the country’s they visit and this is the perfect recipe for clandestine operations and activities.
Importation of terrorism through the guise of tourism
According to Cracraft (1986) tourism is a sensitive sector and a nation will react rapidly to crime to protect its tourism sector. Acts of terrorism are always a drawback to tourist destinations because of the negative publicity that follows, including a host of travel advisories. This is because terrorism acts often indicate inadequacy of security and safety controls. Recent happenings have created a disturbing trend where terrorists sneak into countries disguised as tourists, and live among the locals as they plan their crimes. This worrying trend has created suspicion of people from certain places perceived to breed terrorists such as Middle East. The blanket stigmatization and blanket security regulations that follow are saddening.
The difference between tourism crime and other types of crime
The growth of tourism is associated with increased levels of certain types of crime (Goliath, 2004). The growth of tourism can also be associated with modernization and development, which is a source of social instability that leads to criminal behavior. In addition, tourism crimes are often highly publicized, and the subsequent media publicity is a dent on the country’s image. Another consideration is the fact that tourism growth is mostly accompanied by growth in the resident population.
It is important to distinguish between criminal acts directed towards tourists and those committed by tourists. While crime is primarily an illegal attempt to earn a living, tourism crime is mostly premeditated and about more than just earning a day’s meal. It is about achieving a personal, social, religious or economic obligation either to oneself of to a group. As countries continue to pass laws that simplify the entry and stay of tourists without taking into account humanistic nature, it becomes impossible to shield against crimes related to tourists. The following are factors that create such difficulties when it comes to tourism, crime and terrorism.
Criminal activities can as well be committed by the tourists themselves, either against the locals or other tourists. Where certain forms of tourism either foster or entail criminal activities, it is the tourist who is usually seen as the lead player in initiating or engaging in some kind of illegal activity-. The most, obvious example invokes forms of tourism, such as those involving certain types of related activity, which are defined as illegal by destination authorities. A suitable example of the indirect relationship is gambling, given the involvement of organized crime cartels in casino businesses. The influx in tourists to these places might raise the economic might of criminals, emboldening them and causing a general rise in the crime rate of the country. Finally, there are those tourist activities that can degenerate into criminal behavior because of the presence of alcohol, drugs, arguments or stereotypes
Crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism
It is evident that there is a higher crime rate in countries that deregulate tourism. For instance, the sex tourism industry has increased all over South East of Asia and Burma (Kristiansen & Trion, 2005) and the crime rates in South Africa during high tourism seasons is evident. In these regions tourists are highly involved in criminal activities and are often associated with several kinds of human rights abuses, and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Women and juveniles are often coerced to engage in the sex trade against their will. While locals facilitate these crimes, it is the presence of tourists with ill intentions who cause the rise.
The impacts of crime on the destination are diverse. Some cases involve crimes related to drug use, whereby the destination’s image becomes blotted resulting in significant decline in tourist arrivals. Conversely, theft may occur at tourist destinations where the tourists are at the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition, tourists may contribute to this by engaging in illegal activities or getting involved with criminals (Magenta, 2009, p. 56).
Background of the study
Tourism and security are interrelated and inseparable. The security of the tourists is the primary concern of every host government because of it only where they feel safe that they will spend and visit again. The current economic state of most countries has presented a problem because governments have to come up with ways of raising foreign earnings to raise money to service the national debt and keep the economy afloat. One of the solutions has been to simplify government regulations for the tourism industry to attract more traffic. While this has been successful in most countries, recent evidence has raised questions of what effects lower standards for tourists have on the national security of the host country.
Tourism is a delicate and dynamic industry. Although tourists have specific countries they want to tour based on experience, recommendation or the spirit of adventure, it is worth noting that some tourists have other agendas. It is impossible to know legitimate tourists from people with hidden agendas such as terrorists without the proper legislation. At the same time tourists are usually free to travel to destinations of their choice avoiding destinations associated with risk. It has been observed that the consequences of disastrous events on tourist destinations are spontaneous and adverse. Some of the insecurity concerns include terrorism of any kind where governments issue travel advisories to their citizens to not visit the affected country. A problem presents itself when terrorism has been imported in the guise of tourism, such that terrorists disguise themselves as normal tourists to enter countries. If stringent laws for immigration were to be put in place as they were before, it would be possible to pick the wheat from the chaff.
According to (Zurick, 2006), the concept of security has changed through the decades from one of collective security to common defense .This is particularly at the micro-level whereby appropriate tourism development initiatives may serve as a means to prevent potential future conflict over resource and environmental security challenges.
Transnationalism and tourism image
The world has become a global village and global relationships have become turbulent, this has created the need for destination marketing organizations, which focus their attention in demonstrating that there is safety for tourists. A tourist perception about a particular destination, which may be caused by negative publicity, is mostly a question of security and safety. Often, this negative publicity may be unrelated to the reality on the ground but it has more than significant effects on the tourism sector and the economy as a unit.
Tourism deregulation impacts on national security can be categorized into positive and negative category based upon economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts. According to Hall, Dallen and Duval (2003), tourism is greatly affected by security. The destination a tourist chooses is determined by how safe he or she knows it, or has been advised it is. Changes in the global security affect tourism greatly. The security concerns affect both tourists and the host country that has to contend with the fact that not all individuals visiting the country have good intentions.
Responsible tourists take time to investigate the security situation in the countries they intend to visit. Such responsible tourists should be aware of security risks and take precautions to mitigate such effects or avoid them completely. The September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Towers in the United States of America are an epitome of events that can affect the tourist traffic of any country. Terrorist attacks have an impact on travel, leisure industries and tourist destinations. As a consequence more focus and attention has been directed towards tourism safety and security issues than ever before. The impact of deregulation on tourism laws on national security is a matter that cannot be ignored. Recent research is focused further on the analysis of not only how travel safety can be promoted but also how security concerns may be incorporated in terms of tourism marketing. The management is also being enhanced to enable the industry become more responsive to challenges of security both internal and imported.
Countries with unstable security history tend to be paranoid about security but stable and relatively safe countries have been continuously passing regulation that simplifies the process of obtaining tourist visas. The movement of the tourists is also not restricted or monitored. While this markets the country as a place where the privacy of visitors is guaranteed and protected, it also attracts people of questionable character and intentions. These individuals might commit crime and abscond, or some might use the stability and anonymity to plan attacks on other countries. The latter situation can create a diplomatic spat, which unchecked, could escalate to war. Tourism activities can be affected by either external or internal forces; such forces may include war, terrorism activities, economic recessions, disaster, and financial crisis among others. Nations and cities which have experienced terrorist attacks for example New York and Washington faced profound impact on global travel (Blackford, 2004).
The area of security is broad and sensitive and is affected by many factors. The relationship between deregulation of tourism and national security can be explored in different perspectives. For example, in examining this relationship the research will look at whether the deregulation of air transport has influenced national security and the tourist destination countries in different nations. Terrorism will also be examined to investigate whether it can be imported in the guise of tourism. It will further examine the impact of deregulation on capacity as well as fares. The study also attempts to determine the impact deregulation on marketing of tourist destinations and attractions. Finally, the research will investigate the impacts of tourism deregulation on transport at the destination areas. The research will also compare tourism crime and other types of crime (Hall, Dallen & Duval 2003).
Research Methodology
To achieve research objectives, a dynamic approach will be adopted, by use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. Quantitative methods will focus on providing a broad statistical measure of the nature, extent and impact of deregulation of tourism on national security using a reasonable sample size. In depth and comprehensive qualitative information will be collected on the impacts of deregulation of security on national security, importation of crime through tourism, comparison between tourism crime and other types of crime.
The research will employ questionnaires to collect data from the respondents as one of the data collection tools. Interviews schedules will also be applied to interview the randomly selected sample population. This chapter presents a description of the procedures and methods that the researcher will use in order to obtain the required data needed for the study. It comprises of research design, data collection instruments, the target population, the sampling strategy, and data analysis methods.
Research design
The researcher will employ quantitative research method. The quantitative research design to be used will be a causal comparative design. The causal comparative design will allow the researcher to collect one or more information from one participant.
A casual comparative research allows researcher to investigate the possibility of a causal relationship among variables that cannot be manipulated. This research design will be used to establish the factors that influence employee training.
Research objectives
This study will focus on achieving the following objectives:
1. To investigate whether terrorism can be imported in the guise of tourism.
2. Investigate whether countries that deregulate tourism experience higher crime rates.
3. Investigate the relationship and compare tourism crime and other types of crime.
4. Identify the impacts of airlines deregulation in international areas with respect to tourism.
Target population
The target population will involve the immigration departments, tourists and locals of the target country.
Sampling strategy
Simple random sampling techniques will be the data collection methods from the various departments. The employees will be randomly selected from each department to yield the total sample population. Purposive sampling will also be used to select employees who are trained.
Data collection tools and instruments.
The researcher intends to use questionnaires in this study. This is to provide high accuracy and validity of the study. The questionnaire is a convenient tool especially where there are a large number of subjects to be handled. The questionnaire facilitates easy and quick derivation of information within a short time. The information obtained will enable to investigate the impacts of deregulation of tourism on the national security.
T-test
T-test will be used to test whether there are significant differences between two mean derived from the samples of groups at a specified probability level.
Chi-square
Chi-square is a statistical technique which attempts to establish the relationship between two variables both of which are categorical in nature. The technique compares the proportion observed in each category with what would be expected under the assumptions of independence between the two variables.
Expected results
It is expected that this research will yield results that show an upsurge in crime levels in countries that have a liberalized tourism industry. In countries with more stringent practices and therefore less tourism traffic, the crimes related with tourism will be less. This is a wake-up call to policy makers to take necessary precaution when passing laws that deregulate the market and give tourists a free-hand to do what they want. National security should take priority over economic gain.
Data analysis/Dissection
The researcher will establish whether all questionnaires are completed. Data collected from open ended and closed questions will be coded for analysis purpose. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used in data analysis. The data will be analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS).Descriptive statistics which will be used in analysis includes means, frequencies, percentages and standard deviation .The inferential statistics that will be used in data analysis will be chi-square and T-test for independent samples.
References
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