On Wednesday 10 March 2010 Oxford Brookes University will play host to some of the world’s leading figures in the tourism and academic communities who will explore alternative approaches to the problem of hotels and tourists being targeted by terrorists.
Soft targets (relatively unguarded sites where people congregate, normally in large numbers) have always attracted international and national terrorist groups since the impact of such attacks can be devastating in terms of damage, intimidation and media attention. In the last two decades, tourism destinations, attractions, hotels, restaurants, clubs and events have been the preferred targets of terrorists. The vulnerabilities of such targets are multiple and complex whereas their complete protection from terrorists is not an easy, if at all possible, task.
So the question remains how can the industry keep guests and local communities safe and protected, yet maintain the ambience expected by them? A seminar to be held at Oxford Brookes University 10 March will examine the complexity of the issue and explore new possibilities of action and reaction that go beyond current practice.
Some of the foremost thinkers in the tourism and academic communities will meet in Oxford and speak at the event. These include:
- Bernard Donoghue: Head of Government and Public Affairs, VisitBritain and Deputy Chair, Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group.
- Alan Orlob: Vice President, Global Safety and Security, Marriott International Lodging
- Professor Alex P. Schmid: Director, Terrorism Research Initiative and editor of the Journal Perspectives on Terrorism. Former Director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), St Andrew’s University.
- Dr Dawn Gilpin: Assistant Professor, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University
The seminar, which is partly funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), will be facilitated by Dr Alexandros Paraskevas from Oxford Brookes University and Professor Eve Mitleton-Kelly from the London School of Economics and is expected to attract an audience of industry practitioners, policy makers, academics and researchers.
Dr Paraskevas, Senior Lecturer in Strategic Management from the Business School’s department of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism Management who has organised this event commented: “The ‘command and control’ approach often taken, in attempting to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack on tourism targets, has often proved ineffective. This seminar will explore new ways of defining and addressing the problem by introducing the complexity of securing soft targets and by looking at how a ‘paradigm shift’ in countering the threat of a terrorist attack on a tourism target may produce better results...”
Vicky Karantzavelou - Monday, March 01, 2010