Main focus of Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Tourism and terrorism

After the terrorist attacks in the Egyptian resort of Dahab in which over 20 people died, European commentators ask why terrorists have repeatedly targeted tourists. Is this an attack on a specifically Western way of life? And how are Europe's avid travellers reacting?

Gazeta Wyborcza - Poland

Middle East expert Judith Cahen of the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) explains in an interview with Pawel Szczerkowski that the terrorist attacks on the Egyptian resort of Dahab were mainly aimed at destabilising the country and toppling President Hosni Mubarak's authoritarian regime. "At first, Arabs on the streets reacted with fear and anger... But these same people will soon turn their anger against the regime, which offers no security. The terrorists were targeting tourism, Egypt's main source of income. When the rich Western tourists leave, the desperate Egyptian people will take to the streets and demand reform." (26/04/2006)

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Die Welt - Germany

The terrorists who carried out the bombings in the Egyptian resort of Dahab wanted to "strike at the very heart of the Western way of life," says Dietrich Alexander. "This is a lifestyle which, in its liberality, offends the totalitarian-oriented Islamic model of fanatic Muslims and which they perceive as a provocation. They want to attack the structures that the Western way of life has 'produced'. This is why, with increasing frequency, global tourism and global terrorism become fatally intertwined. The holiday paradises of this world are becoming the preferred battlefields of these self-appointed holy warriors who, with their crazed attacks, are perverting their own religion. No one is safe, anywhere." (26/04/2006)

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Die Presse - Austria

In view of the fact that there have been hardly any cancellations of Egyptian holiday bookings following the Dahab attacks, Gerhard Hofer concludes that people have forgotten how to react to fear. "In a society where stinginess is considered cool and the hunt for bargains continues – even, it would seem, if it means stepping over dead bodies – safety aspects seem to be hardly worth mentioning. Certainly not on holiday, where you want to get away from it all and have your peace and quiet... 60,000 Austrians are to travel to Egypt this year. In a couple of weeks' time the incident will be forgotten. This is a paradoxical situation: in a society in which fears are becoming increasingly irrational, the genuine dangers are being taken less and less seriously." (26/04/2006)

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More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Tourism, » Global
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