Comparison of the impact of the arab spring and terrorist attacks on the decline in tourism in egypt and Tunisia (2010-2015)

Abstract

Tourism industry plays an important role in many countries while in several dozen ones, including Egypt and Tunisia, it is perceived one of the most significant sectors of the countries' economy. The main objective of the paper is to analyse the changes in tourist air traffic in Egypt and Tunisia during a period of challenging political transition called the Arab Spring in Egypt and the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia as well as the influence of the terrorist attacks on tourists which took place in the two above-mentioned countries in 2014, 2015 and in the first half of 2016. The author will make an attempt to assess the magnitude of the negative impact of the political riots and terrorist attacks on the decrease in tourist traffic measured by a decrease in the tourist air traffic and in the number of tourists visiting the analysed countries. Egypt and Tunisia have been selected for the analysis as their anthropogenic and natural attractiveness make them the main tourist destinations for Europeans.