Explaining the role of geopolitical crises in the tourism industry. Case study (Southwest Asia, 2012-2023)

Document Type : مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

Authors

Esmeil Alamdar ¹

Ali reza Kaheni ²

¹ Assistant Professor of Political Geography, Birjand University

² Master of Political Geography, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

https://doi.org/10.22067/pg.2025.93465.1370

Abstract

Development and security, and the priority of each over the other, are among the most challenging issues among the scientific community and politicians. Among them, one of the most important factors that greatly contributes to the development and security of a geographical region is the growth of the tourism industry. One of the important issues that has overshadowed Southwest Asia as one of the tourism hubs is geopolitical crises that affect all political and economic dimensions of countries. This research has attempted to explain the role of geopolitical crises by using a descriptive-analytical method and documentary study of global tourism statistics in the last decade, with an emphasis on comparative and trend analysis. The main question of the research is to what extent have geopolitical crises overshadowed the tourism industry in the countries of this region? The research findings indicate that the Southwest Asia region has experienced numerous crises over the past decade, such as ISIS, the Yemen-Saudi Arabia war, the Zionist occupation, etc. These crises have had a significant impact on the tourism industry. In a way that countries were divided into three groups: at the epicenter of the crisis, in the neighborhood of the epicenter of the crisis, and far from the crisis, and the status of their tourism industry was analyzed. The results of the study indicate that countries that had less geographical proximity to the epicenter of the crisis and even played a role as actors in these crises benefited the most from the tourism industry. However, countries that have had tourism based on religious and ideological attractions, especially in the Shiite religion, have not had their tourism flow significantly affected by this research issue.

Keywords

Security

Development

Geopolitical Crises

Tourism Industry

Southwest Asia

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