Geopolitics in Travel and Tourism – Thematic Research

Geopolitics refers to the influence of factors such as geography, economics, demographics, and culture on the politics of a state and how these ultimately shape the way that businesses and destinations operate. Pandemics, trade wars, nuclear weapons, land disputes, cyber-attacks, military tensions, domestic disputes, and migration are all trends that contribute to a geopolitical crisis, jeopardizing the travel and tourism sector along the way. The world, however, is constantly changing, which may accentuate other trends that will cause conflict in the future.

Despite the destruction and suffering of geopolitical issues, there are occasions where silver linings can be found. The reopening of attractions can gain national and international media attention, shining a positive light on the once-suffering country. Media outlets can become powerful tools to stimulate demand during the recovery stage.

What are the key trends that will shape the geopolitics theme?

The key trends that will impact the geopolitics theme in the coming months can be divided into four categories: trends contributing to geopolitics, negative destination trends, unintended opportunities, and niche tourism trends.

Trends contributing to geopolitics

The trends that will contribute to the geopolitics theme are social media, land disputes, trade wars, domestic disputes, and drug trafficking.

Negative destination trends

The negative destination trends that will impact the geopolitics theme are xenophobia, no-fly zones, and political instability.

Unintended opportunities

The key unintended opportunities that will impact the geopolitics theme are tourism as soft power, tourism reset, and media attention.

Niche tourism trends

The niche tourism trends that will impact the geopolitics theme are dark tourism, heritage, and cultural tourism, and voluntourism.

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What are the key value chains of geopolitics?

The geopolitics value chain can be categorized into challenges, outcomes, and drivers.

Challenges

Before COVID-19, travel, and tourism had become one of the most important sectors of the world economy. However, the global pandemic had put millions of jobs at risk. Tourism-dependent countries will likely feel the negative impacts of the crisis for much longer than other economies. Contact-intensive services that are key to the tourism and travel sectors are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and will continue to struggle until people feel safe to travel again.

Outcomes

Geopolitical tensions have the potential to cause catastrophic damage to the travel industry. When the relationship between countries becomes strained, visa restrictions can be implemented, making it more difficult for inbound travelers to venture from a specific destination or region. Most global travelers generally avoid destinations that are considered unsafe. The political stability of a destination will be a key factor within the decision process, alongside being a key driver of geopolitical tension. This instability can also relate to economic instability in a country’s decreasing incomes meaning less tourism spending, further affecting government investment in tourism infrastructure.

Drivers

Tourism has often been utilized by governments as a form of ‘soft power’. This refers to offering an opportunity to rebrand a destination after conflicts and, in this case, geopolitical tensions. Dark tourism is a niche tourism type that has recently become an area of interest for some tourists. It is defined as ‘tourism that involves traveling to places associated with death and suffering’. Both heritage and cultural tourism are subsets of leisure travel. Authenticity is key here as a tourist aspires to truly experience a destination through interacting with the locals and learning about their lifestyle, religion, and history.

For more insights on value chains of geopolitics in the travel & tourism industry, download a free report sample

Which are the leading public companies that are associated with the geopolitics theme?

The leading public companies that are associated with the geopolitics theme are Airbnb, British Airways, Carnival, Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, and TUI.

Which are the leading private companies associated with the geopolitics theme?

The leading private companies associated with the geopolitics theme are Emirates Airline, Intrepid Travel, Koryo Tours, Projects Abroad, and Young Pioneer Tours.

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Market report scope

Scope

• This thematic report provides an overview of the impact geopolitics has on the travel sector and seeks to understand some of the contributory factors.
• The key trends within this theme are split into four categories: trends contributing to geopolitics, negative destination trends because of geopolitics, unintended opportunities because of geopolitics, and niche tourism trends because of geopolitics.
• Several case studies are included to analyze the multiple ways countries have responded to the impact of this theme and what they are doing to tackle the issue.
• Our unique thematic analysis then dives deep into the impact of the theme on the travel and tourism industry, underlining several countries that have been heavily impacted by geopolitics.

Key Highlights

There is very little that travel and tourism companies can do to prepare for the impact of geopolitics. With some geopolitical conflicts it is often easier to spot the warning signs and put measures in place to reduce the impact, whilst with others there is often no prewarning and the impact can be more widespread.

Some of the areas suffering from geopolitical conflicts are rich with culture that could become a touristic site of interest if peace were restored. Despite the destruction and suffering that geopolitical issues can cause, there are occasions where silver linings can be found.

The effects of geopolitics can leave a destination in a state of disrepair. However, by increasing tourism, the economy can benefit directly, and the destination will be more likely to receive investment from foreign sources.

Almost all travel and tourism companies are impacted by this theme. NGOs are the most heavily involved in helping those affected by conflict and helping with the rebuilding efforts. Others include hotels, airlines, and specialist tour operators running tours to areas impacted by geopolitical conflict.

There are many niche tourism types that can support a country seeking to recover from terrorism & conflict including voluntourism, dark tourism, and heritage & cultural tourism.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand the impacts of geopolitics on travel and tourism companies, using case studies and examples to understand how you can tackle and mitigate the impact of this issue.
• Assess the strategies that companies and governments are adopting to combat geopolitical conflicts and the issues caused by such conflicts to attract travelers to their destinations, gaining a competitive advantage as a result.
• Discover which countries and companies have been most affected by geopolitics and seek to understand what actions they have taken to rebuild their tourism economy.
• Discover recommendations that will help you mitigate against the impacts geopolitics can cause.
• GlobalData’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. It has a proven track record of identifying the important themes early, enabling companies to make the right investments ahead of the competition, and securing all important competitive advantages.
• This theme has the potential to impact all players across the travel and tourism supply chain. Therefore, all should buy this report to fully understand how this theme has such an impact and the ways others have developed recovery strategies for a successful rebuild.