THE IMPACT OF TOURISM SECURITY ON TOURIST ARRIVALS

Abstract

The global tourism industry is facing serious challenges due to increasing security threats, including terrorism, political instability, and armed conflicts. These threats significantly affect tourists’ perceptions and behaviors, which ultimately hinder the growth of the tourism sector and have a direct impact on local and global economies. In addition, environmental issues such as pollution and climate change add to the complexity of creating a safe and sustainable tourism environment. These uncertainties make many tourist destinations lose their competitiveness as tourists tend to choose places that are considered safer and more stable. This study aims to analyze the impact of various forms of insecurity on tourist visits, and explore the relationship between security conditions and the sustainability of the tourism sector. The novelty of this study combines security issues and tourists’ risk perceptions as key factors in tourism sustainability. Using a qualitative approach through literature review and secondary data analysis, this study shows that risks posed by tourism security threats have a significant influence on tourists’ decisions. Events such as terrorist attacks, political crises, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the vulnerability of the tourism industry to multidimensional global disruptions. Therefore, a proactive, adaptive, and integrated security management strategy with tourism policy is very important to maintain tourist confidence and ensure the sustainability of regional economies that depend on this sector. Thus, the integration of security aspects into tourism planning is not only a short-term need, but an important part of a long-term strategy to ensure the sustainability and competitiveness of tourist destinations.