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The scourge of terrorism has situated as one of the major risks and concerns for policy makers and authorities in the Western hemisphere. The attacks to WTC marked not only a first attack in the US soil but the prelude of a set of attacks perpetrated in the European urban metropolises. Over years, the classic literature punctuated on the negative impact of terrorism in the tourist destination. Recently, some voices have questioned this assumption holding that under some conditions the tourist demands recover to the earlier levels before the crisis. This chapter discusses critically not only the differentiation between risks and threats but also the different faces of terrorism. We also propose a model based on three dimensions: terrorism as a risk, terrorism as a threat and terrorism as a worry. As a conceptual model, the resulted hypotheses and ideas should be empirically validated in next layouts.

The purpose of this paper is to present research findings that improve our understanding of the role for business in the “War on Terror”. This paper is not about examining counter‐terrorism commodities or products. Rather, this paper aims to examine management attitudes and techniques for creating images of security that work to reduce the risk of terrorism.

A brief literature exploration informs research that was carried out in Melbourne, Australia in 2005 with managers in organisations located in Melbourne's central business district (CBD). This research comprised in‐depth interviews of 40‐60 minutes in length. In total, 12 managers were interviewed. Two key respondents emerged and their views are presented in this paper.

It is argued in this paper that managers are compelled to engage in counter‐terrorism in order to protect customers, clients and the public. Yet counter‐terrorism security is often not what it seems. When businesses are engaged in countering terrorism they are engaged in creating images of security.

The sample population for this research is quite small and is not intended to be representative or generalisable to a larger population. Rather, this research represents special cases where counter‐terrorism has become an important consideration for business security. The results highlight effective and tangible mechanisms that managers can adopt to play a key role in the “War on Terror”.

This research can assist managers in preparing their response to terrorism and the threat it poses to their business.

Research on terrorism and business is rare and often under‐developed. This research contributes to our understanding of how businesses must confront and respond to terrorism.

The purpose of this paper is to present research findings on how the threat of terrorism to Australia affects managers and employees in workplaces in a large city. It investigates the various workplace impacts of the terrorist threat and examines how this affects organizational efficiency and effectiveness and employee wellbeing.

A literature review of the impact of the terrorist threat to workplaces is presented using academic research and journalistic commentary. This review informs research collected in seven organizations via in‐depth interviews of 40 minutes length conducted with staff and management in the administrative, legal, retail, sporting and services sectors. In total, 55 interviews were conducted with an additional 50 respondents who were unavailable for interviews completing surveys.

A number of significant negative impacts of the threat of terrorism on Melbourne workplaces are identified. The most significant were workplace discrimination and diversity management, cultural change to be security oriented, and increased occupational stress.

The sample population for the research is quite small so the conclusions cannot be considered generalizable. Rather, the research represents specific cases where the impacts are felt and, as such, may exist in other sectors and cities. The results are highly concerning and suggest that terrorism has a detrimental effect at work and on life.

The findings can assist organizations in preparing management responses and actions in preventing the negative impacts of the threat of terrorism.

Research of this kind is extremely limited yet of the highest importance to organizations in large cities.

Today's terrorism has been considered one of the main global threats the Western civilisation faces, even a great challenge posed for the next years. After 9/11, theorists of tourism triplicated the number of publications that took tourism security and terrorism as main objects of study. In spite of the proliferation of these studies, terrorism targeted the main European cities such as London, Madrid, Paris and Brussels (only to name a few). Over years, scholars believed that the industry of tourism was particularly sensitive to terrorism; at least the decline of tourist destinations in the Middle East seems to testify this assumption. In this complex context, two significant families of theories surface: the socio-cultural theory and the economic-based theory. Though debated in the chapter, we opt for a third alternative model which expands the current understanding of terrorism. The chapter not only explores the historical intersection between tourism and terrorism but also deciphers the moral dilemmas of extortion which remains as the touchstone of Western capitalism.

This paper aims to revolve around two problems which, though imagined as different, can be addressed altogether. On one hand, the advance of terrorism as a major threat to the tourism industry, while – on the other – we discuss the ontological nature of tourism as a rite of passage, which is vital to keep the political legitimacy of officialdom. At the time, paradoxically, social scientists shrug off tourism as a naïve commercial activity, while the main tourist destinations are being attacked by jihadism. This suggests the disinterest of ones associates to the interests of others.

The author holds the thesis that tourism derives from ancient institutions, which illuminated in the growth of Occident and the formation of hospitality. Capitalism hides the importance of tourism as a mere trivialization as a bit-player. However, a closer look reminds precisely the opposite. The recent attacks perpetrated at main destinations reveal tourism as an exemplary (symbolic) center of the West, a source of authority and power for the existing hierarchal order.

The issue captivates the attention of scholars, officials and policymakers, and at the same time, epistemologists of tourism receive a fresh novel debate regarding the origins of tourism.

It is a great paradox that tourism would be selected as a target for jihadism but at the same time a naïve activity for social scientists or at the least by the French tradition. Despite the partisan criticism exerted on tourism as an alienatory force, this work showed two important aspects, which merits to be discussed. At a closer look, tourism should be understood as “a rite of passage” whose function associates to the revitalization of those glitches happened during the cycles of production. Second, and most important, tourism accommodates those frustrations to prevent acts of separatism or the rise of extreme conflict among classes.

The recent COVID-19 virus outbreak, as well as many other global risks, has put the tourism industry on the brink of collapse. Even if interesting advances have been seen the light of publicity based on risk perception, no less true seems to be that the current theory is not enough to understand and describe the impacts of new global risks that may destroy the industry in question of weeks. This introductory chapter gives a snapshot on the fragile conditions we are moving today and interrogates further the future of tourism.

Since it was adopted from psychology just after the turn of twentieth century, risk perception theory has multiplied and successfully evolved in the fields of tourism research. A dearth of studies has focused on risk perception over the recent decades. We have certainly identified three clear-cut traditions: demographical school, psychological school and critical perspective. With benefits and problems each theory has shed light trying to measure the impact of global risks in the tourism and hospitality industries.

This book keeps the originality to update what has been published in the earlier decades. We are incorporating new topics to the discussion as well as new epistemologies and methodologies. Gathering different high-quality products authored by well-renowned authors coming from different countries, it lays the foundations to a new understanding of risk perception and tourism safety-security debating the next steps and the real challenges posed on the industry in a not so long near future.