The Impact of Geopolitical Natural Resource Conflicts on the Development of the International Tourism Industry: The Case of the Middle East

Abstract

The international tourism industry is the most developed and dynamically developing sector in the global market. Tourism as a separate sector is inherently sensitive to climate change, political events, and economic crises. The institutional development of the tourism industry has enabled it to become resilient and flexible to all changes. A positive feature of tourism is its rapid response to geopolitical, geographical, economic, and environmental changes, which allows it to transform and take a beneficial form. The most striking example of its flexible transformation can be observed against the backdrop of recent events in the Middle East. The geopolitical conflict in the Middle East between Israel, the United States, and Iran has demonstrated its impact on tourism development in this sector, its negative consequences, and its transformation. The "neighborhood effect" also played a significant role, negatively impacting countries outside the conflict zone. Countries such as Turkey, Morocco, Qatar, the UAE, and others have suffered no less from this effect than Iran. The conflict in the Middle East has driven up oil prices, inflation, and the cost of all types of goods in most countries worldwide. As oil prices have risen, tourism services have increased in other continents, while falling in the Middle East.