April 14th, 2010 | Conferences, Lectorat, News & Info, Publications
This communication is based on the results of a mixed-mode survey design. The first qualitative research phase has set the ground for the quantitative research conducted in the second phase of the study (click on title to read more). For more information contact us by e-mail: omar.moufakkir@stenden.com or by phone: (00)31 582441301.
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In a few years, the growing number of immigrants has transformed culture shock into culture unrest (Moufakkir, 2008, p.86), defined as “the context where two cultures live together, but at a level of acceptance that has developed from a state of euphoria, apathy, to annoyance, or even antagonism”, sometimes expressed verbally and even physically. In a destination image study, we found the Dutch perceptions of people of Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands to be overwhelmingly negative, confirming similar opinions expressed in the media (ref. Table 1, qualitative information). The social and political landscape of the Netherlands was infected by the murder of right wing politician Pim Fortuyn just before the national election in May 2002. Despite and/or because of his death, his party List Pim Fortuyn (LPF) won 17% of the national vote, making it the second strongest political party in the country. Besides a rising mistrust of politicians, Fortuyn’s success was attributed to the issue of ‘unsuccessful’ integration of ethnic minorities (Krouwel et al., 2006) or what Scheffer (2000) referred to as the “multi-cultural drama”. In addition to this, the murder in November 2004 of outspoken anti-Islamic opinion-leader, filmmaker Theo van Gogh, shocked the nation. In such a tragic environment, the fear of inter-ethnic polarization, as well as the need for effective measures for integration, appears to be a reality (Krouwel et al., 2006). During the March 2010 Dutch municipal elections the PVV won in Almere with 21.6 % of all votes, making it the biggest party in the city with nine seats in the municipal board. In Den Haag, winning eight seats, they came second to the PVDA (Labor Party) and became more popular than the CDA (Christian Democrats). More importantly, a public opinion poll (peiling) of 2500 voters undertaken by Synovate during the same period indicated that this ultranationalist party would be the third most important political party in the country with 24 seats compared to nine seats in 2006. The poll by Maurice de Hond, also a very well known poll group, indicated that the PVV would become the biggest party in the country with 27 seats. As was reported in the media, these results were a shock to Dutch people and to the world community, because of the reputation of the Netherlands as a multi-cultural society noted for its tolerance and multiculturalism.
 The results of a study conducted by the Tourism for Peace (lectoraat) research group are (graphs below), no surprise because they simply confirm ”public opinion” perceptions about the Moroccan Allochtonen in the Netherlands which are overwhelmingly negative. The whys of this phenon is not the subject of this communication. Rather, it is noted that Dutch people who visited Morocco were found to be less prejudiced towards Moroccans than those who did not. Tourism, in the context of this study seems to reduce prejudice. Furthermore, as those who have visited Morocco appear to be less prejudiced than those who did not, it could be suggested that tourism has to some extent a positive impact on perceptions.
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January 24th, 2010 | Conferences, Lectorat, News & Info, Presentations
Why Europe needs an immigration strategy (Kofi A. Annan, 2004)
(Click on title to read more)
One of the biggest tests for the enlarged European Union, in the years and decades to come, will be how it manages the challenge of immigration. If European societies rise to this challenge, immigration will enrich and strengthen them. If they fail to do so, the result may be declining living standards and social division.
The face of immigration and hospitality has changed, and so have its challenges and opportunities. There is no need for argumentation; a quick scan in the media shows the actual immigration-integration climate in major Western European countries, be it in France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweeden, Switzerland, Norway, Greece, the UK, Austria or Belgium. Although there is much ado in some countries than others, the overwhelming climate and discourse is rather negative. This is what we hear, what we have become conditioned to hearing, and what we most often expected to hear:
Madam President, we are losing our country. We are losing our Netherlands. We are losing it to mass immigration. We are losing it to the inflow which is no longer in control. We are losing it to a culture of backwardness and violence. We are losing it to the Moroccan thugs who go through life scoffing and spitting and beating up innocent people. They make the schoolyards and streets unsafe. They stick up their middle finger to funeral processions, threaten and abuse ambulance staff and beat up gay people and hiss ‘whore’ to women. They happily accept our benefits, our homes, our doctors. But not our standards and values (Excerpt from a speech Geert Wilders gave in Dutch parliament, September 2008).
This is what we seldom hear and know:
All who are committed to Europe’s future, and to human dignity, should therefore take a stand against the tendency to make immigrants the scapegoats for social problems. The vast majority of immigrants are industrious, courageous, and determined. They don’t want a free ride. They want a fair opportunity for themselves and their families. They are not criminals or terrorists. They are law-abiding. They don’t want to live apart. They want to integrate, while retaining their identity (Kofi Annan, January 2004).
Clearly, the media plays a big role in affecting our judgements about immigrants and integration, and the discrepency between negative and positive news is outrageously and harfully too big.
Managing migration is not only a matter of opening doors and joining hands internationally. It also requires each country to do more to integrate [old and] new arrivals. Immigrants must adjust to their new societies – and societies need to adjust too. Only with an imaginative strategy for integrating immigrants can countries ensure that they enrich the host society more than they unsettle it (Kofi Anna, 2004).
June 11th, 2009 | Conferences, News & Info
Sometimes, it is difficult to talk about the relationship between tourism and peace. This is mainly due to the limited definition of peace as the absence of arms. If the definition of peace includes conflict, it become easier to realise the connection between tourism and peace. To understand this connection, it is insightful to go back to 1948 and the Declaration of Human Rights. Then, it is possible to see where humanity has made progress and where it has failed. Tourism does not make miracles, tourism can be used as a tool to enhance and promote human rights -political, social, environmantal and cultural- in so many ways.
Click to view our presenation “Tourism and Peace: Myths, Realities and Progress” at the World Heritage Conference in Austria, June 3-5, 2009. austria_conference
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May 15th, 2009 | Conferences, News & Info
It is true that certain forms of tourism and types of tourists make the critics of tourism and peace even more pessimistic about the positive relationship between tourism and peace. However, it is, nevertheless, worth noting that peace through tourism debate has become commonplace in the tourism discourse. And yes, not only in political arenas but also in academia. Internationally, tourism conferences and seminars are increasingly recognising the importance of the tourism and peace phenomenon. More and more conferences are including tourism and peace in their selection of themes. The International Center for Peace through Tourism Research has been invited to participate in the Annual Heritage Tourism conference organised by L&R Sozialforschung/L&R Social Research in Austria on June 3-5, 2009. You are cordially invited to participate with us in this important conference. For more information contact Mr. Behrouz Sayahpour
L&R Sozialforschung/ L&R Social Research
Lechner, Reiter und Riesenfelder Sozialforschung OEG
1060 Wien, Liniengasse 2A
Tel: +43-1-5954040-25
Fax:+43-1-5954040-9
mail:sayahpour@lrsocialresearch.at
To see the conference program, click on the following links:
heritage-tourism-conference; heritage-tourism2
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June 22nd, 2008 | Conferences
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June 12th, 2008 | Conferences
Tourism4Peace Forum
An Example of Best Practice in Peace through Tourism Education
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Preamble
The Tourism4Peace Forum was established in 2005 as an initiative by the Israel Hotel Management Association and sponsored by the Peres Center for Peace. The purpose of the creation of the forum is to advance peace through tourism by strengthening dialogue and ties between the regions and the tourism industry. The third annual meeting of the Tourism4Peace Forum was hosted for the first time outside the Middle East, in the Netherlands. The Tourism4Peace conference was organised by the Christelijke Hogeschool Nederland (CHN University) in October 31-November2, 2006.
A panel presentation included senior hospitality executives of Egypt, Israel, Jordan, The Palestinian Authority. Their presentation included a prototype tour brochure, “The Pillars of Civilization,” which illustrates their vision for regional tourism promotion. The four-country tour program offers cultural experiences, religious pilgrimages to the Holy Land and a wide variety of tourist sites and resorts.
By endorsing this vision delegates agreed among many others to 1) work towards easing freedom of movement for easier access to tourists and Palestinian tourism professionals in the area; 2) gather efforts on joint marketing and promotion activities; and 3) facilitate joint professional workshops for top hotel and travel executives in the region.
Overview
Delegates respectively presented tourism in their countries indicating respective unique selling points (USPs) but also emphasizing the cultural similarities that exist between the concerned destinations.
No borders, no boundaries, no animosity; just beautiful cultural experience
That was the message by delegate from Israel Rafi Baeri, Executive Vice President of the Dan Hotels-Israel to the students. The Tourism4Peace forum conference at the CHN university has been of an important success, not only because it has gathered delegates from the Arab world and Israel around the same table, but most importantly because it has served as an eye-opener for students -citizens of the world, future marketers, politicians, policymaker and entrepreneurs- making them more aware of the importance and power of tourism as a facilitator and beneficiary of peace.
You probably won’t believe it, but there are people in the Middle East who want peace
Janos Damon, Executive Director, Irael Hotel Manager Association
The delegates’ echoed message was that, despite the conflict, tourism does happen in their region and could and should grow even more because of the so many tourism treasures and opportunities that this part of the world offers. While the media tend to ‘over dramatise’ the situation in the Middle East, sensitise and sensationalise their media products, it is time to ‘cheer up’ a bit. The challenge of the delegates has been on focusing on, and emphasising, the other somewhat forgotten face of the Middle East. Their mission thus has been to cover the other side of the story and, through tourism, share with the people of the world the other positive realities of the region.
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