Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Water supply crisis: (societal).
Critical systems failure: (technological). (World Economic Forum, 2013a)
The list in Figure 14.1 is being used here as an example and it is not meant to
be exhaustive. It should be noted that some of the issues, such as 'unforeseen
negative consequences of regulation' and 'backlash against globalisation' do
illustrate a bias towards being pro-globalisation, which many would argue
has caused numerous difficulties (see de la Dehesa, 2006, on Winners and
Losers in Globalisation ). Each of these areas of the World Economic Forum
global risks report (2013a) has a body of literature of its own and a detailed
analysis of each is beyond the scope of this chapter. However, it is important
to note how interconnected these issues are as reflected in the comment
below by Ghani and Lockhart in the context of disparity:
We have a collective problem: Forty to sixty states, home to nearly two
billion people, are either sliding backward and teetering on the brink of
implosion or have already collapsed. While one half of the globe has cre-
ated an almost seamless web of political, financial and technological
connections that underpin democratic states and market based econo-
mies, the other half is blocked from political stability and participation
in global wealth. Within these countries, vicious networks of criminal-
ity, violence and drugs feed on disenfranchised populations and uncon-
trolled territory. In a period of unprecedented wealth and inventions,
people throughout Africa, Central Asia, Latin America and the Middle
East are locked into lives of misery, without a stake in their countries or
any certainty about control over their own futures. (Ghani & Lockhart,
2009: 3)
Many of the countries in the regions that Ghani and Lockhart (2009) refer
to above have tourism in some form or are next to more stable countries
where tourism is a major component of the economy. All of the global risks
in Figure 14.1 have the potential to impact tourism and a few brief comments
follow illustrating how global events in relation to the main categories of
Figure 14.1 can influence tourism.
In terms of economic issues, the current global financial crisis, with some
Eurozone countries having to be bailed out, is having widespread economic
implications. Greece, for example, experienced a drop in visitor numbers
because of protests over government austerity measures, although recent
reports point to a subsequent resurgence of the country's tourism sector.
Where once international aid or bailouts went primarily to developing coun-
tries, these are now occurring in developed economies. In fact, some develop-
ing economies are becoming very significant on the global scene. Brazil,
Russia, India and China, known as BRICs (and some change the 's' to 'S',
adding South Africa), have been referred to as leading emerging economies
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