Early in 2011, a wave of political protests against Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi took a violent turn, leading to the outbreak of a civil war between Gaddafi-controlled forces and rebel forces.
As the conflict stretched on, Libya’s nascent travel and tourism industry came to standstill. A no-fly zone was imposed over Libya and external forces participated in the conflict; airport runways at Benghazi Airport were destroyed, Tripoli’s port was targeted by NATO forces, and there was significant damage to the country’s infrastructure, the extent of which is yet to be revealed.This brought more than five years of consecutive growth to a halt, as Libya started to emerge from its isolation after the lifting of UN and US sanctions in 2003. The future remains unclear, with the possible opening up of Libya to yet more growth in a post-Gaddafi era. The future is uncertain, and Libya’s travel and tourism industry is expected to suffer losses for at least another two years, even if the conflict comes to an end by the end of 2011.
There is a great deal of reconstruction needed, and efforts will be geared towards getting the country back on its feetbefore engaging in more tourism developments.That said, the longer-term prospect may end up proving more encouraging if any reminiscence and residue of the Gaddafi regime is forever scrapped, and a new government aims to truly improve the lives of Libyans and the image of Libya abroad, in an effort to boost the economy, and, ultimately, the travel and tourism industry need urgent recovery strategy however, Libya’s political and economic weaknesses resulted in uprising and Political instability in the whole country starting from 2011. Consequently the destination image of Libya which is a vital component of the decision making of a potential tourist was significantly damaged.In addition the reports on newspapers and other mass media, have frightened potential tourists and significantly weakened the tourism industry during and after the Libyan civil war. after almost two years Libyan authorities have perfected their official efforts to rescue the country from the consequences of the conflict but the main problem is the broken trust in Libya as safe and comfortable area to be visited.
The non organized coordination between the government departments created more obstacles with the absence of smart policies and modern strategic planning of using the public media and the multimedia.Literature View Tourism is travel for recreationalor business purposesthe WorldTourismOrganization defines tourists as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity, In 2011, there were over 983 million international tourist arrivals worldwide, representing a growth of 4. 6% when compared to US$ 940 billion in 2010. International tourism receipts (the travel item of the balance of payments) grew to US$1.
3 trillion (€740 billion) in 2011, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 3. 8% from 2010. In 2011, international travel demand continued to recover from the losses resulting from the late-2000s recession, where tourism suffered a strong slowdown from the second half of 2008 through the end of 2009. After a 5% increase in the first half of 2008, growth in international tourist arrivals moved into negative territory in the second half of 2008, and ended up only 2% for the year, compared to a 7% increase in 2007. 4] The negative trend intensified during 2009, exacerbated in some countries due to the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza virus, resulting in a worldwide decline of 4. 2% in 2009 to 880 million international tourists arrivals, and a 5.
7% decline in international tourism receipts. Tourism is important, and in some cases, vital for many countries. It was recognized in the Manila Declaration on World Tourism of 1980as "an activity essential to the life of nations because of its direct effects on the social, cultural, educational, and economic sectors of national societies and on their international relations.Tourism brings in large amounts of income in payment for goods and services available, accounting for 30% of the world's exports of services, and 6% of overall exports of goods and services. It also creates opportunities for employment in the service sector of the economy, associated with tourism, these service industries include transportation services, such as airlines, cruise ships, and taxicabs; hospitality services, such as accommodations including hotels and resorts; and entertainment venues, such as amusement parks, casinos, shopping malls, music venues, and theatres.Libya, with its recent embrace of tourism, is not alone among developing nations.
Since the early 1970s, an increasing number of developing nations have listed tourism into their economic plans . It was in the 1970s that international tourism became a global phenomenon. Improvements in international transportation like the jumbo jets, which entered service in 1970, improvements in communication networks and a growing affluence among Western nations made the world both accessible and affordable. growing list of nations have tried to provide western travellers with convenience. THE IMPORTANCE OF IMAGE 1 Media Impact Introduction It has been estimated that a remarkable 25% of all news stories involve disasters or crises of some sort, disasters attract the media in very large numbers, and it's not hard to see why disasters are spectacular, action-orientated, dramatic events which routinely feature human suffering and feats of durance and bravery.
From a media perspective they are relatively easy to cover, provide ample opportunity for dramatic photographs, and are guaranteed to attract an audience or sell newspapers, disaster and crisis events inevitably prove an irresistible combination for the media, and for the general public who will be avid consumers of what the media produces. News will normally be reported as soon as it becomes available, and this is the case regardless of how inadequate the initial information is, or how uncertain the source.The advances in modern technology mean that news stories and pictures can be transmitted around the world within minutes even if the media isn't present in the initial stage of a disaster or crisis, members of the public will be, with mobile telephones and video cameras in hand, and their pictures will be accessed by the media and transmitted. Passengers in the London Underground rail system following the bombings in July 2005, were transmitting pictures to the media from their wrecked carriages and as they evacuated through tunnels to safety.
Media personnel usually have little understanding of the fact that in the confused aftermath of a disaster, information may be difficult or impossible to obtain. This can make them suspect that authorities are hiding information from them when the truth is that it just isn't availableJournalists are usually generalists, not specialists this means that they are unlikely to have any depth of understanding of a disaster or crisis event, the cause, effects or the necessary response and recovery processes.They can, therefore, easily misunderstand what they see and hear in the case of a tourism crisis, it is essential that local tourism operators only comment to the media on matters which are within the scope of their responsibilities and that they do not comment on operational matters which are the responsibility of emergency services or disaster management agencies.The Media and Human Development In Libya the civil war has destroyed the truth in the region as touristic destination and that added more presser on the tourism industry which already was suffering of the ignorance of the previous regime, not all is about the media affect also there are many other factors control the declining of the performance, the main element in the tourism business
