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accommodation may be unavailable, or security
may be problematic. Others may have trips
aborted or ruined by political terrorism. Political
attitudes toward other cultures or even other
regions may affect both tourists and those who
serve them.
Key events like war and conquest spawn
political memorials like the Hiroshima Memorial
and the Alamo. Political infrastructure like the
Washington Monument, the Kremlin and the
British Parliament are also tourism attractions.
Tourism can become an antidote to ethnocentrism
or be used by groups and government as a
way to reinforce cultural identity, instil pride,
preserve political memories and interpret them to
others. Enormous debate, public expenditures and
effort are directed at controlling what is remembered,
what is covered up and how sites should be
interpreted to tourists.
See also: political science
Further reading
Horne, D. �1984) The Great Museum, Melbourne:
Pluto Press. �A comparison of European Museums
and what and who they choose to
immortalise.)
Matthews, H.G. and Richter, L.K. �1991) `Political
science and tourism,' Annals of Tourism Research
18: 120±35. �Details the political socialisation
impact of tourism.)
political stability
LINDA K. RICHTER, USA
Political stability has a peculiar relationship to
international tourism, which is often seen by
local officials as a means to develop political
stability. They argue that international tourists will
infuse the local economy with both money and new
jobs. Both will provide governments at all levels
with increased revenues. Such funds will allow
more public needs to be met, reducing popular
pressures, thereby stabilising the political system.
Others disagree. They note that the presence of
leisured, affluent tourists with expensive tastes may
create a demonstration effect that can itself be
destabilising, demoralising workers and creating
demands for luxuries that the government cannot
provide. In some countries, the presence of these
outsiders may also offer an opportunity to dissident
groups to get their agendas before the world press by
kidnapping tourists, rioting or other acts �see
terrorism) that cannot be ignored because
foreigners are involved.
Because tourists are courted by many competing
destinations, the industry in a particular nation is
critically dependent on the perception of political
stability. Tourism may often contribute to political
stability, but this is also a precondition for tourism's
sustainable development. Because of this,
some public officials are tempted to suppress a
wide range of dissent, fearful that it might be seen
by international tourists as signs of `unrest'. Such
crackdowns can contribute to the very political
opposition they were designed to thwart.
The concept of political stability is itself open to
a variety of definitions using a multitude of criteria.
One observer's assessment of a large rally might be
that it signalled `unrest'; another might see it as the
sign of a healthy democracy. Who has the power
to define what is or is not political stability can
greatly affect the industry. Many countries like Fiji,
Kenya, Thailand and the Czech Republic that
are dependent on overseas tourism dollars are
precisely those which lack the resources to shape
the ways in which their own events are interpreted
abroad. They do not control CNN, Asahi Shimbun,
the US State Department or the American
Society of Travel Agents, all of which are
continually assessing the political stability of
countries.
Further reading
political stability 453
Enloe, C. �1990) Bananas, Beaches and Bases,
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
�Chapter 2 discusses factors contributing to
problems associated with tourism.)
Richter, L. �1992) `Political instability and tourism
in the Third World', in D. Harrison �ed.), Tourism
and the Less Developed Countries, London: Belhaven,
35±48. �Examines specific types of instability and
their impact on tourism.)
CYNTHIA ENLOE, USA