Arab Spring's Impact on Middle East Tourism and Hospitality

Introduction and Background

The Arab Spring can be defined as a series of revolutions that swept across Middle Eastern countries, including Tunisia and Egypt. On December 17, 2010, a vegetable vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid. This act triggered great political upheaval across North Africa and the Middle East, which came to be known as the "Arab Spring" (Youssef and Lafferty et al., 2013, pp. 960–962).

A number of demands were voiced by both protesters and rebels across the region. These demands called for greater inclusion in political and economic life, better governance, and stronger civil liberties. The outcomes of the upheavals varied from region to region, reflecting the social divisions specific to each country — divisions that had previously been suppressed by governments in the name of political and social stability (Youssef and Lafferty et al., 2013, pp. 960–962).

The revolution had wide-ranging impacts on the political and economic dimensions of Middle Eastern countries. Old leaders were replaced by new ones. While the Arab Spring created many adverse effects on tourism in the affected regions, it also contributed to the development of a demographic dividend in Arab countries — that is, a projected period in which the workforce would exceed the dependent population. The Arab youth population is modern and highly educated, forming a large share of the region's total population. This could become an asset rather than a liability, producing a larger and more skilled workforce and accelerating economic growth. However, the long-term consequence of this demographic shift may be an aging population that eventually reduces the size of the workforce (Youssef and Lafferty et al., 2013, pp. 960–962).

The Arab Spring resulted in an overall decrease in political stability across Middle Eastern countries, which in turn led to a drastic reduction in tourism. In some countries, such as Egypt, tourist arrivals dropped by almost 80%. In Luxor — also known as the Valley of the Kings — nineteen people died in a hot-air balloon explosion. An armed mob also infiltrated a hotel in central Cairo, forcing chefs and waiters to defend themselves with kitchen equipment. Such events had a far-reaching effect on tourism (Youssef and Lafferty et al., 2013, pp. 960–962).

Because tourism is an industry that flourishes under peaceful and politically stable conditions, and because most Middle Eastern countries rely heavily on tourism for economic development, the instability sparked by the Arab Spring caused a steep reduction in the gross domestic product of these countries. In some nations, GDP growth fell from 4.2% to 2.2% within just a few months (Youssef and Lafferty et al., 2013, pp. 960–962).

This study analyzes some of the political and economic consequences of the Arab Spring and assesses the opportunities and challenges facing the affected countries. The focus is on Arab countries in North Africa — Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia — as well as the Levant region, comprising Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, and Yemen.

The Arab Spring led to a sharp decline in the tourism and hospitality industries of the regions most central to the revolution. Major tourism destinations, including Tunisia and Egypt, witnessed significant drops in visitor numbers. These declines were triggered by uprisings that, when confronted by autocratic regimes, turned deadly and proved highly damaging to the growth of the tourism industry (Sadiq, 2012, pp. 3–21).

Popular tourism destinations outside the Middle East — and notably the Gulf city-state of Dubai — became centers of attention for tourist groups diverted from Middle Eastern destinations. Ahmed Youssef, Director of Marketing and Operations (MENA) at Amadeus, indicated that the Arab Spring caused an overall decline in international arrivals to the Middle Eastern and North African region, most evidently in Tunisia and Egypt (Nyaruwata and Mhizha et al., 2013, pp. 43–56).

The World Tourism Organization reported that international tourist arrivals in the Middle Eastern region declined by approximately 8.4%, falling to 54.8 million in 2011, compared to growth of 14.9% in 2010 (Nyaruwata and Mhizha et al., 2013, pp. 43–56). Statistics from the same organization show that Syria experienced a 41% decline in tourism, Egypt 32%, Tunisia 31%, and Lebanon 24% (Nyaruwata and Mhizha et al., 2013, pp. 43–56).

Literature Review: Arab Spring and Tourism

This study therefore aims to analyze the impacts of the Arab Spring on the tourism and hospitality industry of the Middle East, and to propose recommendations for mitigating those negative impacts.

The research addresses the following questions:

1. What are the impacts of the Arab Spring on the tourism and hospitality industry of the Middle East?

2. How can the negative impacts of the Arab Spring on the tourism and hospitality industry of the Middle East be mitigated?

The research aims to:

1. Analyze the impacts of the Arab Spring on the tourism and hospitality industry of the Middle East.

2. Analyze how the negative impacts of the Arab Spring on the hospitality and tourism industry of the Middle East can be mitigated.

This study is significant for investors and businesses operating in the tourism industry. It also provides relevant information to academic institutions, business organizations, and individual researchers who seek to conduct further work in this area.

The Arab Spring was initiated in the winter of 2010. On December 17, 2010, a municipal inspector confiscated the cart of a vegetable seller named Mohammed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid, a provincial city of Tunisia, because the seller did not possess a vending license. The inspector followed a common practice whereby vendors needed either strong connections with influential political figures or money to bribe authorities — conditions more important in practice than having a valid license. Bouazizi's appeals were denied. He reacted to this humiliation in a desperate manner by committing self-immolation in front of a local government building (Rosiny, 2012, pp. 1–8).

The elements that unified all protests conducted under the Arab Spring were fundamentally moral and ethical in nature. The most important values driving the revolution were: justice (adalah), freedom (hurriyah), dignity (karamah), and respect (ihtiram) (Moadde and Young-Demarco et al., 2012, pp. 1–25). The demands of the protesters included the following:

That authorities respect the rights of individual citizens and not treat them as subordinates. That individual citizens be provided with lives of dignity and respect, rather than being humiliated by public authorities or coerced by security forces. That individuals be treated equally with regard to awards and opportunities, rather than receiving clientelistic benefits based on levels of compliance. That the rule of law apply to all, including elites. And that all individuals be given an equal right to participate in global trends toward prosperity, progress, education, and democratic participation (Moadde and Young-Demarco et al., 2012, pp. 1–25).

Middle Eastern and North African countries are well known for their ancient tourist sites, which attract large numbers of visitors each year. In several Arab countries, tourism serves as the backbone of the economy and is the primary source of hard currency earnings in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan (Staff of U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, 2011, pp. 1–7).

Country-Level Impacts on Tourism

The selection of keywords played an important role in ensuring the appropriate collection of data. Keywords were chosen to closely reflect the topic under consideration (Cooper and Schindler, 1998, pp. 58–72). Keywords used in this research included: "the impact of Arab Spring on the tourism sector of Middle East," "Arab Spring and Middle Eastern tourism," "impacts of Arab Spring," and "tourism industry of the Middle Eastern region" (Polit-O'Hara and Hungler, 1993, pp. 109–350).

The research method used in this study is qualitative. An explanatory research approach was adopted because the aim was to explain the impacts of the Arab Spring and the atmosphere that accompanied it, rather than to quantify those impacts numerically (Polit-O'Hara and Hungler, 1993, pp. 109–350).

Qualitative research is exploratory and "bottom-up" in nature: the researcher generates knowledge, hypotheses, and grounded theory from data collected during fieldwork. It treats reality as subjective, mental, and personally constructed, in contrast to the objective, structural ontology of quantitative research. Qualitative approaches are concerned with empathetic understanding and subjective description, studying individuals and groups in natural settings to appreciate insider perspectives, meanings, and patterns. Results are particularistic rather than broadly generalizable.

Data was presented with the aid of charts and graphs. Direct quotations from analysts and experts were also incorporated where appropriate (Polit-O'Hara and Hungler, 1993, pp. 109–350).

The number of tourists who visited Egypt in 2011 amounted to 9.5 million — a decline of approximately 35% from 2010. Tourism revenue fell from $12.8 billion in 2010 to $8.8 billion in 2011, a loss of approximately $4.5 billion (Saeid Ali and Zamri Arifin et al., 2012, pp. 1162–1171).

Because the aviation industry is closely tied to tourist movement, it also suffered. A decline in the number of travelers led to reduced air traffic and had a detrimental impact on the aviation sector. Additionally, airports across Egypt experienced significant revenue losses, as airport income depends heavily on tourism-related economic activity, including aircraft movements, landing and departure fees, passenger accommodation, and other ancillary services (Saeid Ali and Zamri Arifin et al., 2012, pp. 1162–1171).

Tunisia's tourism sector employs approximately 400,000 people and typically attracts around 7 million tourists annually, contributing approximately $5.2 billion to the national income. After President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown as a result of the Arab Spring, the tourism sector declined by approximately 45% (Mustafa, 2010, pp. 37–48).

The events accompanying the revolution had a disastrous impact on Tunisian tourism. The fall in the sector exceeded 33%, and the total loss borne by the industry amounted to approximately 3,364 million Tunisian dinars (Hazbun, 2006, pp. 201–214). The unrest also led to the closure of approximately 17 hotel units, depriving around 3,000 Tunisian citizens of their permanent income and causing 20,000 more to lose seasonal employment. The primary causes of this collapse were the lack of political and social stability and the absence of safe and secure conditions in the country (O'Sullivan and Rey et al., 2011, pp. 1–17).

In Syria, the most significant tourism impacts resulted from the political instability and security turmoil associated with the Arab Spring. According to a report issued by Syria's Ministry of Tourism, the sector declined by 8% during January–February and May 2011 compared to the corresponding months of 2010. Air traffic and flight occupancy to Syria declined by approximately 70% relative to the pre-unrest period (O'Sullivan and Rey et al., 2011, pp. 1–17).

Among the specific problems that emerged were the refusal of insurance companies to cover travel agencies and tourists wishing to visit Syria, and a sharp decline in medical tourism — which had a detrimental impact on approximately 80% of dentists in the country. The decline in medical tourism also severely affected hospitals and healthcare centers that had previously received thousands of patients from Iraq, Jordan, Iran, Yemen, and other countries (Saeid Ali and Zamri Arifin et al., 2012, pp. 1162–1171).

Yemen's tourism sector was negatively affected from the outset of anti-government protests in February 2011. Losses suffered by Yemeni tourism companies ranged between $400 million and $560 million. Reports indicate that approximately 40% of tourist facilities were closed by tourism agencies as a result of political and security unrest. Furthermore, 30% of tourism-sector workers were laid off, and 35% were placed on compulsory unpaid leave (Saeid Ali and Zamri Arifin et al., 2012, pp. 1162–1171).

The Arab Spring also led to the departure of approximately 250,000 foreign tourists from Yemen, and reservations were cancelled by nearly half a million foreign tourists. This caused a sharp decline in occupancy rates and a drop of approximately 50% in accommodation prices across the country (Saeid Ali and Zamri Arifin et al., 2012, pp. 1162–1171).