Running Head: TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 1

Tourism and International Politics

Word Count: 1027

Emily Little

Drury University
TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 2

Tourism and International politics

Nations are always communicating with one another and interacting. On a seemingly

daily basis countries are making and breaking deals or changing their stance in the world. This

global interconnectivity is something that affects everyone and many citizens have opinions on

what they think is the best course of action. They have their own thoughts and views on

international politics and how their country should act on the global stage. But most people do

not think that they have the ability to influence international politics and make change. Reasons

for this follow along the lines of “I don’t hold a government office,” “I’m not a billionaire,” or “I

just don’t have that kind of power.” In this essay I will demonstrate that the average person does

have the ability to influence international politics, even through something as simple as

international travel.

By visiting a foreign country, you can make it more likely that your government will

form a stronger relationship with said country. Nations want their citizens to be safe wherever

they travel in the world. In order to help ensure their citizens’ safety, a country will want to

maintain a good relationship with wherever their citizens are traveling to. By having a peaceful

alliance, that country is more likely to treat your citizens well. Georgia, for example, has had an

exponential increase in tourism since 2010, with that influx of visitors we have seen US and

Georgia partnerships deepen along with stronger security cooperation (Congressional Research

Service, 2019, pg. 2). Because of how many people were visiting Georgia, the US and Georgian

governments got together and strengthened their ties. A mutual protection relation like this goes

both ways though, if country A wants their people to remain safe in country B, then they will try

to keep country B’s citizens safe when they visit and vice versa. In the United States, foreign

visitors receive many of the same constitutional rights as citizens, some of these rights include
TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 3

protection under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th amendment (Somin, 2017). Through the cycle of

visiting and being visited, foreign governments have cooperated to ensure the safety of their

citizens, all stemming from where you decided to travel to.

By visiting countries that are considered dangerous, your government is likely to get

more deeply involved than just peaceable relations. If the country you are visiting has an issue

that the foreign government is having trouble solving on its own, issues like terrorism and

economic turmoil, then your government may act beyond simple peace and alliance. Israel and

Egypt see large amounts of tourism every year for differing reasons, Israel for mainly religious

purposes and Egypt for sightseeing reasons. Both countries are located in a dangerous part of the

world and both suffer from terrorist attacks. Right now, Israel and Egypt are, respectively, the 3rd

and 4th largest receivers of US aid, they receive both military and economic assistance from the

United States in order to help them achieve peace and safety (Concern Worldwide US, 2018).

Even though both of these countries are considered dangerous because of the domestic and

international turmoil they are experiencing, they are still being visited by international tourists

and they are still receiving aid in an attempt to calm the turmoil. The United States desires to see

peace and safety for their citizens in Israel and Egypt has prompted them to get more deeply

involved in order to help achieve it.

Countries that receive a large amount of income through tourism are more likely to act

peaceably in order to maintain that income. Countries will bolster good relations with each other

in order to look more appealing to foreign travelers and then in turn receive the revenue that is

brought in by tourism. After World War II, Britain, along with other European nations, began to

strengthen international ties in order to attract tourists and receive a boost of revenue needed to

fix their war ravaged countries (Leisure, Travel, and Mass Culture, 2019). These desires for good
TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 4

relations were especially aimed at the United States, and through that wave of international

travel, the US was able to strengthen international ties with Europe. The desire for economic

stability and rehabilitation caused countries to strive for peace, right after a massive war, and

achieve it.

Withholding international visitation can also influence international politics. Countries

will not only strengthen international ties in order to attract tourists and maintain the related

income, but will also straighten out domestic problems as well. When a country sees that it is

losing money because tourists consider it too dangerous to visit, that country will do their utmost

to fix their domestic issues and see a rise in tourism, and tourist related revenue, again. For

example, Turkey’s international tourist rates dropped drastically because of the 2016 military

coup as well as from terrorist attacks that had been occuring in the area around that time. While

Turkey did strengthen ties with other countries in order to look good to tourists, they put a large

focus on fixing their domestic issues and bringing about peace again. Once the domestic political

turmoil had calmed down and the situation in Turkey appeared safer than in the past, the nation

saw their tourism rates rise and even exceed what it had been before 2016 (Kamin, 2018). By

tourists not visiting Turkey and bringing in that tourism revenue, it led to Turkey straightening

out both its domestic and international issues.

While tourism is not the only driving factor in international politics, it is a large factor. A

correlation can be seen between international tourist destinations and international political

involvement and change. Where you decide to spend your vacation days has a larger impact than

what is immediately obvious. Travel forces native countries to become more attuned to the

foreign countries you are visiting, and in trying to be responsible for their citizens, nations may

change the way they interact with one another. Not only that, but the economic impact of tourism
TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 5

also forces a country to remain internationally attuned. As you can see, just by choosing an

international travel destination, you can influence international politics.

TOURISM AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS 6

References

Congressional Research Service. (2019, April 1). Georgia: Background and U.S. Policy.

Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45307.pdf

Somin, Ilya. (2017, April 30). The Constitutional Rights of Noncitizens. Retrieved from

https://www.learnliberty.org/blog/t-he-constitutional-rights-of-noncitizens/

Concern Worldwide US. (2018, February 21). Foreign Aid By Country: Who Is Getting The

Most- And How Much?. Retrieved from https://www.concernusa.org/story/foreign-aid-

by- country-getting-how-much/

Leisure, Travel, and Mass Culture. (2019). International Relations. Retrieved from http://www.

masstourism .amdigital.co.uk/Introduction/InternationalRelations

Kamin, Debra. (2018, August 15). Another Hit for Turkish Tourism?. Retrieved form

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/15/travel/turkey-tourism-economic-crisis.html