War and Its Repercussions on Tourism Security

Gharib Ali Salim

Written by Gharib Ali Salim
Translated by Narmeen Othman Mohammad

Wars have long constituted a significant threat to tourism security in the regions where they occur, the problem is not limited to the destruction and devastation caused by war affecting only the country in which the battles take place; its consequences also extend to neighbouring countries. From this perspective emerges the concept of tourism security, a compound term derived from the words “security” and “tourism”.
Tourism security refers to providing protection for tourists, their movement, activities, and recreation, as well as safeguarding tourism institutions. In other words, it means protecting the lives of tourists and ensuring their psychological safety from potential dangers. It includes a set of security and legal measures aimed at creating a safe environment in tourist destinations. Tourism security is therefore a fundamental factor in attracting tourists and stimulating the economy.
Accordingly, tourism security is an essential condition for attracting both domestic and international tourism. Conversely, wars, chaos, terrorist acts, and political instability are among the most prominent factors that affect tourism flows, especially since tourists are highly sensitive to any signs of violence, war, or instability.

Supply and Demand in the Tourism Sector
All countries around the world attempt to adopt strict measures to protect tourism security in order to present a positive image of their tourism sector at both regional and international levels. Tourism cannot flourish in the absence of political and security stability. When political and diplomatic relations between countries are good, tourism demand and supply increase significantly.
In other words, there is a direct relationship between the political and security situation on the one hand and tourism demand and supply on the other. In regions characterised by security and stability, tourism activity grows, whereas tourists tend to avoid areas experiencing tension and military conflicts. Wars—whether large or small—leave a clear impact on tourism demand and often produce broader and longer-lasting negative effects on tourism development. This, in turn, directly contributes to rising unemployment and negatively affects social security.

International Statistics
According to statistics from the international tourism organisation, over the past years, tourism growth has been steadily increasing year after year. In 2024, the number of tourists worldwide reached approximately 1.4 billion, representing an increase of about 11% compared with 2023.
This growth contributed to the revitalisation of markets and tourist destinations and generated revenues estimated at around $10.9 trillion, in addition to providing employment opportunities for approximately 350 million people worldwide. In other words, out of nearly eight billion people around the world, more than one billion travels annually as tourists, and the tourism sector accounts for more than 10% of global income.

The Outlook Does Not Appear Reassuring
International tourism increased by 4% in 2025 compared with 2024, reflecting strong global demand for travel, according to statistics, 1.052 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide that year. It had been expected that this number would reach two billion tourists by 2030. However, the increasing geopolitical and security complexities in recent times may lead to a decline or slowdown in tourism activity.
Tourists can be warned in the event of natural disasters occurring in a particular place, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, or torrential rains. These phenomena are not man-made and are often predictable, and tourists generally avoid such incidents. Their impact is usually short-term. 
Political and security disturbances, however, are man-made, such as political instability, terrorism, crime, wars, the mistreatment of tourists, and unstable security procedures, all these factors discourage tourists from visiting those destinations.

Tourism: A Sensitive Industry
One clear example of the impact of terrorist acts on tourism was the attacks on the World Trade Center in 11 September attacks, which led to a 7.4% decline in global tourism demand in the United States.
As a result, more than 10 million workers in the global tourism sector lost their jobs, and hotel occupancy rates in the United States dropped by 50% despite reduced prices.
Similarly, in Tunisia, where tourism contributes 18.6% of Gross Domestic Product, the sector suffered a major setback in 2011 compared with previous years, with the number of international tourists falling to approximately 5.1 million.
Tourism is an extremely sensitive industry to international and regional crises such as wars, violence, and terrorism. Examples include the war and conflict between Russia and Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, and the emergence of the Islamic State terrorist organisation in 2014, which seized large areas of Iraq, particularly the provinces of Mosul, Salah ad-Din Governorate, and Diyala Governorate, as well as some administrative parts of Kirkuk Governorate, followed by its later attacks on the provinces of the Kurdistan Region.
These events had direct repercussions on tourism activity and the economic situation.
The number of tourists in the Kurdistan Region also declined in 2017 due to the deterioration of political and diplomatic relations between the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government, the referendum process, the closure of Erbil International Airport and Sulaymaniyah International Airport, and the Iraqi army’s advance into disputed territories.

Tourism in Kurdistan
The Kurdistan Region is considered one of the areas whose tourism security has continuously been threatened by wars and conflicts, including bombardments, landmines, burning, and even chemical attacks on various parts of Kurdistan. All these factors have contributed to political and security instability in the region.
At present, the Kurdistan Region is, fortunately, approaching the spring season, the Newroz celebrations, the holy month of Ramadan, and the tourism season. However, unfortunately, the war between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other has escalated widely, and its sparks have also reached the Kurdistan Region.
This situation could seriously damage the reputation of tourism in the region, as tourism activity can only flourish in a stable and secure environment. Moreover, all elements of tourism—such as the tourism industry and tourism investment—are interconnected, and any threat to the security of one element inevitably affects the others.
In light of the current political and military situation between Iran on one side and Israel, the United States, and the neighbouring countries of Iraq on the other. It is expected that if the war continues, it will have significant repercussions on economic and tourism activity, as well as on rising inflation rates. This would cause serious damage to the economy of the Kurdistan Region and the future of its tourism sector.