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News: Why Tourism Ban Is Not An Effective Protest?

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Tourism boycott is a sign of protest to clamor for change, but this kind of demonstration does not always work out just fine. It leaves collateral damages, not just to the country you ban to visit but to its people and economy as well. Sadly, there are still countries that are under a tourism ban.

Palau
Palau is working so hard to stay afloat in spite of its spat with China, per the South China Morning Post. The country’s tourism was thriving until China imposed a tourism ban. Travel agencies were halted to sell tours to the country in Oceania after it “refused to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan.”

The tourism ban greatly affects Palau, and the industry now suffers. Unfortunately, the most affected of them all is the people who survive from tourism. Hotels and restaurants on the island are often empty. It is also a great loss for the Palaun investors who borrowed money to invest in tourism.

South Africa
South Africa’s products were “individually boycotted” on the apartheid era, but coupled it with the government’s trade sanctions, then the country greatly suffered. Its entertainers and sports teams were stopped to perform, anyone who would bravely do so got criticized. It also received a tourism ban from the World Travel Organization (WTO) when it revoked its membership.

South Africa got one million tourists in 1980, but it dramatically dropped to almost 300,000 in 1986 when the tourism ban got imposed. At the time, the swimming pools and beaches got separated, and the best ones were only for whites.

South Korea
China also imposed a tourism ban in South Korea. The Chinese government put a stop to the sales of package tours in protest of Seoul’s move to set out an “American missile defense system.”

The tourism ban affected South Korea’s tourism. Jeju Island, streets, hotels, and restaurants were always empty. Duty-free shops’ sales also dropped. Fortunately, the ban got lifted as it backfired to China. Chinese businesses got also affected as many Korean industries were from the mainlanders.

So is tourism ban a good or a bad thing? According to Nomadic Matt’s Travel Site, “tourism-based economic protest” is a big mistake. It is a move that barks on a wrong tree as it hurts the wrong target, the people.

Tourism ban is ineffective. Visiting a country can do more social changes than boycotting that region. Its people and businesses ended up suffering. Hence, they are the collateral damages to the boycott.

By Jonnalyn Cortez
Source: en.businesstimes.cn

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