Generally speaking, the smaller and more remote a place is the less likely it is that a conflict will occur. Whoever is responsible for this attack figured they could make a huge headline by punching a hole in the side of Indonesia's tourism industry. But the truth is, Indonesia has been very lax in pursuing terrorist factions. Do you think Norfolk Island off the coast of Australia is a terrorist target? Probably not. There's just not enough critical mass there. If you go where the crowds are, your risk is higher.
How will this incident impact America's travel industry and the way we travel?
For Americans, the biggest issue is how close an attack is to home. So this isn't going to be the attack that alters America's travel industry. We know that business travel is down and it's probably not going to begin to turn around until 2004. This incident isn't going to change that. Americans will continue to travel more in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Western Europe. So, this is not going to have a huge impact on the global tourism front in the long term.
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