Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
September 11, 2001 attack on America: a record of the immediate
impacts and reactions in the USA travel and tourism industry
J.N. Goodrich*
College of Business Administration, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
Received 12 February 2002; accepted 14 March 2002
Abstract
On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, 19 suicide hijackers took control of four United States commercial airplanes and
crashed them, respectively, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City, the Pentagon in
Washington, DC, and in a field in Somerset County, west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An estimated 5000–6000 people were killed.
The cost of the tragedy, in terms of rebuilding, is estimated at about $105 billion (CNN Television News Report, October 5, 2001).
The tourism industry in America was severely affected, with immediate declines in airline passenger loads of 50% and more, and
similar declines in hotel occupancy.
This article describes the impacts of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the travel and tourism industry in the USA. It is
compiled from the wealth of secondary data published in the print media, news reports on major television networks in the USA
(e.g., ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN), and informal discussions with 50 Executive MBA students and 21 faculty members at a
university in the southeastern part of the USA. It is divided into six parts: (1) background: sequence of events; (2) impacts on the
travel and tourism industry; (3) managerial implications; (4) future research; (5) limitation; and (6) summary and conclusion.
r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Tourism; Terrorism; Security; USA; Afghanistan
1. Background: sequence of events
This section on the sequence of events of September
11, 2001 is provided as a necessary background to the
article. (See ‘‘Anatomy of a Day of Terror,’’ 2001)
1. At approximately 8:45 a.m., Tuesday, September 11,
2001, American Airlines, Flight 11, a Boeing 767–300
with 92 passengers, bound from Boston, Massachusetts to Los Angeles, California was crashed into the
North Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC), by
five hijackers, killing all aboard.
2. At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines, Flight 175, a Boeing
767–300, with 65 passengers, bound from Boston to
Los Angeles, was crashed into the South Tower of the
World Trade Center, by five hijackers, killing all
aboard.
3. At 9:40 a.m., American Airlines, Flight 77, a Boeing
757–200, with 64 passengers, bound from Dulles
*Tel.: +1-305-348-2571; fax: +1-305-348-3792.
E-mail address: goodricj@fiu.edu (J.N. Goodrich).
International Airport (near Washington, DC) to Los
Angeles, California, was crashed into the Pentagon,
by five hijackers, killing all aboard.
4. At 10:10 a.m., United Airlines, Flight 93, a Boeing
757–200, with 45 passengers, bound from Newark,
NJ, to San Francisco, California, crashed in a field in
Somerset County, west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
killing all aboard, after being commandeered by
about four hijackers.
5. Each of the Twin Towers of the WTC collapsed
about 1 hr after being hit. Each tower was 1350 feet
tall, with 110 stories. The towers were part of a
complex of six WTC buildings on a 16-acre site, with
some 50,000 workers, space for 2000 cars, and up to
200,000 visitors daily. Tenants of the WTC buildings
included trading companies, bond companies, banks,
insurance companies, retail stores, restaurants, the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, US
Customs, New York Mercantile Exchange and more
than 1000 other businesses and trade organizations
(CNN Television News Reports, September 14, 2001).
0261-5177/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 2 6 1 - 5 1 7 7 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 2 9 - 8
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J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
There were some common elements of these crashes.
The airplanes were each hijacked by terrorists who
overpowered the pilots and crew with knives and boxcutters and threats to blow up the planes. The flights
were domestic, commercial, long-haul flights and the
airplanes were filled with fuel, each with anywhere from
about 9000 gallons to almost 14,000 gallons, thus
making them explosive missiles. The crashes were aimed
at the heart of the financial and trade districts in New
York City, and at the centers of power in the USA (e.g.,
the Pentagon, the White House). The terrorist hijackers
were linked to the Saudi Arabian born multimillionaire
($300m to $400m estimated net worth) Osama bin
Laden who harbors an intense hatred for the USA, and
finances/sponsors many terrorist organizations against
the USA (e.g. Al Qaeda). The people who died at the site
of the four crashes were from over 80 countries,
including the USA, Canada, Britain, Germany, India,
Pakistan, and Japan.
The immediate area of the crash site at the WTC is
now referred to as ‘‘Ground Zero’’. The collapse of the
Twin Towers of the WTC caused tremendous collateral
damage to other WTC buildings, nearby offices, and
hundreds of vehicles in the path of the falling towers. It
is estimated that the resulting 1.2 million tons of ruble
(concrete, steel, wood, glass, etc.) will take from 9 to 12
months to be completely cleared (Miami Herald, 2001b).
On Sunday, October 7, 2001, at approximately 12:30
p.m. Eastern Standard Time in the USA (or about 9:00
p.m. in Afghanistan), the USA began retaliatory air
strikes against selected military targets of the Taliban
regime and the Al Qaeda terrorist organization in
Afghanistan. Some of these targets included airports,
ammunitions depots, armies, and terrorist hideouts in
and around some of Afghanistan’s major cities (e.g., the
capital Kabul and Kandahar).
2.1.1. Airports
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2. Impacts on the travel and tourism industry
There have been many impacts on the travel and
tourism industry. The most important ones are dealt
with below.
2.1. New security precautions for travelers
2.1.2. Seaports, bus stations, train stations
*
The terrorist attacks spawned new and tightened
security measures at high rise hotels and restaurants,
entertainment centers, airports, seaports, bus stations,
train stations, sports stadiums and other places in the
USA where large numbers of people, including tourists,
are likely to gather for an event. Some of these safety
measures are listed below (Borenstein, 2001; Business
Week, September 24, 2001; Merzer and Chatterjee,
2001; Nieves and Samuels, 2001).
About 5000 members of the US National Guard,
dressed in camouflage and with M-16 rifles in hand,
have been deployed to some 422 airports around the
country.
More (private) security personnel at airports in the
USA.
Allowing only ticketed passengers in the departure
gate areas.
Better screening of passengers at airport checkpoints,
for knives, cutting instruments, guns, and other
weapons.
More random checks of passengers, their shoes, and
their carry-on luggage.
X-ray of carry-on lap top computers and other
baggage.
More detailed background checks on all aviation
employees, and increasing restrictions on their movements on the ramps, in baggage areas, and in the
terminals.
Airlines are purchasing more powerful scanners that
can detect explosives in baggage.
Armed, plain clothes Sky Marshals (security guards)
on some domestic and international flights.
Increased surveillance of baggage and baggage
handlers at airports.
Over the next few years, airports in the USA will install
face recognition technology that scans a crowd for
known terrorists, criminals, and smugglers, and sounds
an alarm when a match is made (from a huge database).
One such system, which can scan a million faces
per second, and capture faces up to two miles away,
could be used at airport security checkpoints, boarding
areas, passport control, stadiums, and other places
where large numbers of people are gathered for an
event (Chuang, 2001; Chachere, 2001; DuPont, 2001).
Many F-15 fighter aircraft, armed with air-to-air
missiles, 20 mm cannons, and sophisticated surveillance and electronic equipment, are now patrolling
the skies over the USA, ready to act against
‘‘terrorist’’ aircraft, and to protect the country. This
is part of Operation Noble Eagle homeland air patrol
(Long, 2001).
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More surveillance cameras to monitor daily activities.
More armed security guards (with guns, tear gas,
pepper spray, and clubs).
More checkpoints to scan and examine people and
baggage.
2.1.3. Detector dogs
*
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), concerned about finding bombs (and drugs) in luggage,
J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
has stepped up the federal breeding program to
increase the number of bomb-sniffing dogs needed
across the country: at airports, seaports, train
stations, bus stations, etc. The FAA has 175 dogtraining teams at 39 airports, but wants to add 90 in
2002. By the end of 2003, the FAA hopes to have 358
teams at 112 airports. The German shepherds and
retrievers are among the most common detector dogs
because of their hunting skills and trainability
(Borenstein, 2002).
2.1.4. Corporate America
Hotels, theme parks, museums, and other corporations in America are also strengthening security
measures at the workplace. Some of these security
measures include new surveillance monitors, entry cards
for employees, making sure that past employees do not
have entry cards to their former place of employment,
and more background checks on employees. Some
companies have also drawn up restrictions preventing
top executives of a company to be on the same flight.
Companies that have implemented some of the abovementioned measures include Citicorp, Boeing, Merck,
Merrill Lynch, and other Fortune 500 companies (CNN
Television News Report, October 1, 2001).
2.1.5. Borders with Mexico and Canada
The aforementioned security measures (e.g., more
surveillance cameras, US National Guards, scanning
and X-ray machines for examining people and cargo
containers, detector dogs, etc.) have been increased and
strengthened along the 2000-mile common Mexican/
American border as well as along the Canadian/
American border. The US border with Mexico has long
been an open door to drug traffickers and ‘‘coyotes’’
who smuggle illegal aliens (i.e., primarily Mexican
nationals) into the USA. The USA and Canada have
signed a border security-improvement measure (Hall,
2002).
2.1.6. Miscellaneous
Many prominent bridges, tunnels, and roads in
America are now under 24-hour electronic surveillance,
as well as human patrols on foot and in marked and
unmarked vehicles. One of the biggest security problems
would be bombs set off on bridges or in tunnels used by
thousands of travelers daily.
2.2. Airline industry
The economic impact of the tragedy has been adverse,
especially on the airline industry and manufacturers of
airplanes. For example, it is estimated that the US
airline industry lost between $1 billion and $2 billion
during the first week after the tragedy. On any given
day, there are 4000 to 4500 commercial aircraft in the
575
skies over America. The US Federal Government shut
down the US aviation industry for two full days (noon
September 11, 2001–about noon September 13, 2001).
During that time, the airlines lost over $100 million in
sales revenue. They continue to suffer millions of dollars
in lost revenue as the traveling public is generally scared
to fly now, and planes were flying half-empty 3 months
after the tragedy.
During the first month after the terrorist attack, many
US airlines announced plans to layoff pilots and other
airline employees; for example, American Airlines
(20,000), United Airlines (20,000), Continental Airlines
(13,000), Northwest Airlines (10,000), Delta Airlines
(13,000). The airplane maker, Boeing, announced plans
to layoff up to 30,000 workers by the end of 2002 at its
manufacturing facilities in Seattle, Washington and
elsewhere (Aamot, 2001; Cordle, 2001a, b; Linn, 2001).
Table 1 summarizes the proposed layoff of airline
personnel so far (e.g., airport staff, aircraft mechanics,
and pilots).
Terrorism, and the decline in the US airline industry,
also had an adverse impact on bookings, sales revenue,
and the number of travelers on foreign airlines, since
airlines feed passengers to each other, and are interconnected. For example, British Airways announced
plans on Thursday, September 20, 2001 that it would
cut about 5000 jobs from its workforce. Other
foreign airlines (e.g., Air Canada, Lufthansa, and
Aeromexico) also scaled back operations and laid off
personnel.
2.3. Support services
The cutbacks in airline operations caused cutbacks in
support services, such as airline food service, cleaning,
and aircraft mechanics (Cordle, 2001a),and layoffs in
support service firms. For example, LSG Sky Chefs, the
USAs largest airline caterer, furloughed 30 percent of its
16,000 US workers in the aftermath of September 11,
2001, as many of its domestic and international airline
customers (e.g., American Airlines, US Airways, Lan
Chile, Varig, Air France, British Airways, Aeromexico,
Mexicana) cut back their domestic and international
flights, and the need for food service. LSG Sky Chefs
operates 80 flight kitchens at 58 airports across the
United States (Cordle, 2001c).
Table 1
Proposed layoffs by Airlines
American Airlines
United Airlines
Continental Airlines
Delta Airlines
Northwest Airlines
British Airways
20,000
20,000
13,000
13,000
10,000
5000
576
J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
2.4. Hotel industry
2.7. State tourism
The hotel industry also felt the brunt of the
tragedy. During the first 3 months or so after the
attacks, hotel bookings in the USA declined by some
20–50% as individuals and groups cancelled vacation
plans, and firms cancelled or postponed conventions,
corporate meetings, seminars, and trade shows. This
resulted in at least a loss of two billion dollars across the
USA within the first month after the tragedy (Tan,
2001a). In order to attract customers, many hotels
slashed room rates by 30–50%, and provided other
incentives, such as free breakfast, discounts on theater
tickets; and three nights for the price of two. Hotels
that did such things included many in Las Vegas,
Nevada, such as The Venetian, Caesars Palace, The Rio
and Harrah’s, and some of the 5000 hotels and motels in
Florida (Ordine, 2001).
Some states in the USA, where tourism is a major
industry, such as Florida, California, and Nevada,
suffered. Let us look at Florida, for instance. About
40,000 South Florida workers have airline jobs. About
20% of them (about 8000) will be laid off before the end
of 2002. About 17 percent of Florida’s jobs are directly
linked to tourism, the state’s major industry, i.e., 1.22
million people/jobs statewide. If about 20 percent of
them are laid off as a result of the decline in the airline
industry, it means more than 240,000 jobs would
disappear (Fields, 2001).
2.5. Casinos
After the tragedy, casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada,
reported declines of up to 50% in patronage (attendees),
as patrons feared flying (in from other states to gamble
and see the entertainment shows).
2.6. Sports tourism
During the week after the tragedy, all major professional sporting events in the USA for that week were
postponed to future dates. These included American
football, soccer, baseball, golf, automobile racing, and
boxing. One such event (The Ryder Cup) was postponed
for a year. The Ryder Cup, golf’s biennial competition,
pitting the USA vs. Europe, was postponed from
September 28 to 30, 2001, in England to a similar date
one year later in September 2002 (Miami Herald,
September 17, 2001a, p. 3A). The main reasons for
postponement of the Ryder Cup were travel and security
concerns of the golfers, as well as for the fans and
visitors to the event.
Security concerns caused the postponement of all 14
National Football League (NFL) games in America on
Sunday, September 16, 2001. Each of these 14 football
stadiums holds 60,000–75,000 attendees (sports fans).
Each attendee spends an average of $50 for admission,
$25 for food, $10 for parking, and $15 for miscellaneous
items (e.g., American flags, T-shirts), for a total of
about $100 per person or about $6 million to $7.5
million revenue loss per stadium for that one Sunday,
September 16, 2001, or a grand total of about $84
million to $105 million in lost revenue for the 14
stadiums on the Sunday after the attack. (The stadiums
recovered much of that revenue when the football games
were held a few weeks later.)
2.8. Travel to countries outside the USA
Travel to many countries around the world was also
curtailed. For example, on September 12, 2001 the US
State Department issued a travel advisory to US citizens
to avoid countries listed in Table 2 (Wooldridge, 2001,
p. 7J). Some of these countries, such as Afghanistan,
Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Sudan, are havens for terrorists.
Several thousand Americans cancelled vacation plans
and business trips to more peaceful parts of the world,
such as to Europe, Africa, and South America. Many
high schools, colleges, universities, and churches cancelled or postponed annual trips abroad for their
constituents. As a result, the hospitality industry in
these aforementioned parts of the world suffered
millions of dollars in lost revenues.
2.9. US stock market
The tragedy also precipitated staggering losses in the
US Stock Market. These losses delayed or stalled travel
plans of many people across America, as savings and
retirement portfolios lost value. This translated into lost
revenues for tourism venues, such as theme parks, resort
Table 2
US Citizens to avoid travel to these countries
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Burundi
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Central African Republic
Colombia
Democratic Republic of Congo
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Guinea—Bissau
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
Liberia
Lebanon
Libya
Macedonia
Nigeria
Pakistan
Sierra Leone
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Tajikistan
Yemen
J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
areas, and entertainment centers, in and outside the
USA.
The stock market was closed from Tuesday,
September 11, 2001 to Friday, September 14, 2001,
but reopened on Monday, September 17, 2001. During
the week of Monday, September 17, 2001 to Friday,
September 21, 2001, the stock market suffered its worst
decline since the week ended July 21, 1933 of the Great
Depression. Stocks lost $1.4 trillion in value in those 5
days September 17–21, 2001; the Dow Jones Industrial
Average (the stock market’s most widely followed
indicator) closed at 8235.81, a drop of 1369.70 points
for the week, or a 14.3 percent loss for those 5 days
(Garcia, 2001). The Nasdaq composite index, which
include many technology stocks, dropped 47.75 or 3.3
percent, to 1423.18 while the broader Standard & Poor’s
500—stock index fell 18.74 or 1.9 percent to 965.80
(Garcia, 2001). Airline stocks (e.g., American, United,
Northwest, Continental and TWA), as well as some
entertainment and hospitality stocks (e.g., Disney World
and cruise lines) lost value.
As a result of the adverse impact on the US airline
industry, the US Federal Government passed a $15
billion relief package for the industry. Five billion
dollars of this sum were in the form of cash (direct aid),
and $10 billion were in the form of loan guarantees.
2.10. Sales of selected products and services
The tragedy had positive economic impact on the
sales of some products and services. Some of these
products and services are listed in Table 3. They include
American flags, cellular telephones, guns, gas masks,
protective clothing against chemical and biological
warfare, surveillance equipment for homes and offices,
bottled water (Tan, 2001b), souvenirs with pictures of
the American flag emblazoned on them (e.g., T-shirts,
hats, cups), walkie talkies and life insurance policies.
A brief comment on a few of these aforementioned
goods is appropriate. Millions of Americans have
bought American flags and they are using them as flags
on their cars, vans and trucks and flying them at their
homes and places of business. These flags are priced at
about $3, $5, or $10 each, depending on the size.
Cellular phones got an unexpected boost in sales as a
result of the fact that a couple of the passengers on two
of the hijacked planes were able to use cell phones to call
loved ones and/or others on the ground and inform
them that the planes they were in were being hijacked.
Thousands of Americans are buying gas masks and
protective clothing in case of biological and chemical
attacks by terrorists. Similarly, many Americans are
buying and consuming more bottled water (instead of
municipal water) because of distrust of municipal tap
water and a fear of contamination of the municipal
water supply by terrorists.
577
Table 3
Increased sales: positive economic impact of tragedy
American flags
Books on the middle east
Bottled water
Cellular telephones
Gas masks
Guns
Life insurance policies
Protective clothing
Souvenirs (e.g., T-shirts, cups, caps)
Surveillance equipment
Transportation by bus and train
Walkie talkies
3. Managerial implications
The disastrous events of September 11, 2001 have had
many managerial implications for the tourism industry.
A few are mentioned below. One implication is the
increased concern of management for the security and
protection of tourism and hospitality property (e.g.,
hotels, inns, resorts, databases). This is reflected in
increases in surveillance cameras and security personnel
on the properties. (Many of the hijackers had stayed in
hotels across the USA prior to September 11, 2001.) A
financial implication is the increase in security expenses
now being incurred by the travel and tourism industry
for the protection of assets and customers. These
expenses include those for more surveillance cameras
and security guards, and will be passed on to customers
in the form of higher prices.
In terms of marketing, late September 2001, US
President George Bush, in speeches to the nation,
exhorted Americans to travel to local destination spots
and to resume a normal way of life. His brother
Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, made similar appeals
to residents of Florida to visit tourist destinations and
attractions in Florida, enjoy stays in hotels, and
patronize restaurants. Alex Penelas, Mayor of MiamiDade County, Florida, also encouraged residents to
take their families to spend a weekend at local hotels,
and to go shopping and resume a normal life. Other
governors of other states in the USA echoed the same
sentiments as President Bush, Governor Bush, and
Mayor Penelas. In short, they were all encouraging
domestic tourism, and acting as marketers of the
tourism industry.
Many hotels in America (e.g., The Marriott International hotel chain) also instituted national advertising
campaigns in the television and print media, encouraging Americans to spend some time at the Marriott and
other hotels. As already mentioned, many hotels are
offering a reduction in room rates of up to 50% to lure
travelers in the immediate aftermath of September 11,
578
J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
2001, as well as free breakfast, discounts on theater
tickets, and other inducements (Clarke, 2001). The
hospitality industry has experienced a great deal of
downsizing, layoffs, and increase in unemployment as a
result of the after-effects of September 11, 2001, and the
economic recession in the USA (Tan, 2001c) which
began around March 2001.
Finally, a public sector managerial implication of the
September 11, 2001 tragedy, is that the US Federal
Government is now actively seeking and recruiting
people fluent in languages such as Arabic, Korean,
Persian, Mandarin Chinese, and Russian, to be translators and interpreters (Hebel, 2002). These people will be
used for a variety of purposes, including interrogation of
prisoners of war, infiltration of (terrorist) organizations
around the world, and translation of letters, articles,
documents, and books. Colleges and universities hope
that the USAs global war on terrorism will mean more
US Congressional support for programs and scholarships that finance and encourage the study of foreign
languages, such as those mentioned above, and others
spoken in areas of the world that are key to US interests
(Hebel, 2002).
4. Future research
Over the next several years, the September 11, 2001
attacks on the USA will spawn thousands of books,
articles, and debates around the world, about many
topics. These topics include terrorism, the impact on
travel and tourism, security, biological and chemical
warfare, military strategy, and new management concerns in the workplace (e.g., security). The following are
some future research topics.
(1) What is the economic impact of this sort of
terrorism on the travel and tourism industry? On
separate sectors of that industry (e.g., airline travel,
hotels)? On individual countries or regions of the
world? On global tourism? The World Tourism
Organization (WTO) will pursue such studies.
(2) The shifts in global travel patterns and flows of
tourists as a result of the September 11, 2001
aircraft hijackings in the USA. (Perhaps, at least
during the next five years or so, there will be a
reduction of tourists from the USA to Europe, and
an increase of such tourists to places in the
Caribbean, China, Australia, and New Zealand,
away from the theaters of war).
(3) What new products and services will the September
11, 2001 attack on the USA spawn in the next 5
years? 10 years? (New ‘‘star wars’’ technology? New
antibiotics? New construction material? New building standards? New protective clothing? New worldwide databases of terrorists and criminals? etc.).
(4) In the face of increasing government intrusions into
our lives (such as through wider powers of wire
tapping, surveillance, and opening of our mail),
how much loss of privacy are we willing to tolerate
as a society?
(5) What needs to be done to get people to travel
normally again, and to visit tourist destinations far
away?
(6) How does the rest of the world view what happened
in/to America? How will all this affect their travel
plans and patterns; at least in the short term?
5. Limitation
There is at least one limitation of this article. It is that
the information on it is expanding, so the article should
be regarded as an initial piece on the subject. Many
more articles and books will be written on the issues.
6. Summary and conclusion
On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, 19 foreignborn men hijacked four (4) American commercial
airplanes and crashed them respectively into the two
Twin Towers of the World Trade Center (WTC), the
Pentagon, and a field in Somerset County, west of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An estimated 5000–6000
people were killed. These people were from over 80
countries, such as the USA, Canada, Britain, Germany,
India, Pakistan, Israel, Japan, and Jamaica.
It is estimated that the tragedy will cost the American
economy about $105 billion. The USA economy was
nudged further into a recession, with the travel and
tourism industry most adversely affected. The terrorist
hijackers have been linked to the Saudi Arabian-born
multimillionaire, Osama bin Laden, and his Al Qaeda
organization which operated mainly out of Afghanistan.
The USA began retaliatory air strikes against command
centers, military depots, terrorist camps, and airports in
Afghanistan (e.g., the capital city of Kabul, and the city
of Kandahar) on Sunday, October 7, 2001.
This article describes the impact of the September 11,
2001 attacks on the travel and tourism industry in the
USA. It is divided into six main sections. They are: (1)
background: sequence of events; (2) impacts on the
travel and tourism industry; (3) managerial implications;
(4) future research; (5) limitation; and (6) summary and
conclusion.
Perhaps, the most visible effect of the tragedy is the
heightened state of security across America: on airplanes, trains, buses, and ships; at airports, seaports,
train stations, and bus stations; at electric and nuclear
power plants; at schools, colleges, and universities; at
post offices, and corporate offices across the USA.
J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
From the standpoint of travelers, their luggage are
now being more carefully checked and scanned for
knives, guns, other weapons, and explosives. They will
have to endure longer waits at airports and go through
more security check points. The increased cost of
security will be passed on to tourists in the form of
higher prices.
Airlines are beginning to incur millions of dollars in
increased cost of security, e.g., strengthening aircraft
cockpit doors, surveillance monitors in airplanes,
increased surveillance at airports, more security personnel at airports, and sky marshals on many domestic
flights in the USA. The costs will be passed on to
consumers.
There have been over 100,000 layoffs in the airline
industry; decline in the value of airline stocks; layoffs in
the hotel industry; decline in sales revenue of many
support firms, such as food companies, cleaning services
and airline mechanics; and cancellations of travel and
vacation plans to countries outside of the USA. Some of
the positive economic impacts of the tragedy are
increased sales of products and services such as
American flags, cellular phones, gas masks, surveillance
equipment for homes and offices, bottled water, walkie
talkies, and life insurance policies.
There are many managerial implications of the
tragedy. These include more focus on security, increases
in security expenses, increased emphasis on domestic
tourism; more patriotic advertisements (e.g., with
themes of ‘‘God Bless America’’), greater recruitment
and training of people fluent in many foreign languages;
and more politicians being more marketing oriented and
encouraging us to travel and to resume our normal way
of life. The USA travel and tourism industry will
rebound fully, but not until around 2003.
September 11, 2001 is etched in history forever. The
tragic events of that day in America, have changed the
infrastructure and security in the tourism industry, the
psychology of travel, and the way in which many
Americans view the world.
References
Aamot, G. (2001). Northwest air cuts 10,000 Jobs. Industry layoff top
100,000. Miami Herald, September 22 (p. 3C).
Anatomy of a Day of Terror. (2001). Miami Herald, September 12
(p. 11A).
Borenstein, S. (2001). Bush to boost air security. Miami Herald,
September 27 (pp. 1A–2A).
Borenstein, S. (2002). Pooch production: breeding program to
increase supply of canine bomb-sniffers. Miami Herald, January
12 (pp. 1C, 3C).
Business Week. (2001). Act of war. Special report, September 24.
Chachere, V. (2001). Airport in Florida to try face scanning. Miami
Herald, December 14 (p. 51A).
Chuang, T. (2001). Security enters new dimension. Miami Herald.
Business Monday, December 24 (pp. 15–16).
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Clarke, J. (2001). NY Beckons with low prices, new attitude. Miami
Herald, October 7 (p. 10J).
CNN Television News Reports. (2001). September 14, October 1, and
October 5, 2001.
Cordle, I. P. (2001a). Airline support firms reeling. Miami Herald,
September 22 (pp. 29–30).
Cordle, I. P. (2001b). American, united each plan to cut 20,000 jobs.
Miami Herald, September 20 (pp. 1C–2C).
Cordle, I. P. (2001c). Sky Chefs cuts 30% of staff. Airline food firms
seek federal aid. Miami Herald, September 27 (pp. 1C, 4C).
DuPont, D. K. (2001). Airport to scan faces. Miami Herald, December
28 (p. 1C).
Fields, G. (2001). As aviation suffers, so does state’s economy. Miami
Herald, September 23 (pp. 1A, 24A).
Garcia, B. E. (2001). Stock market tumbles again, ends its worst week
since depression. Miami Herald, September 22 (pp. 1A–2A).
Hall, K. G. (2002). Security will tighten on Mexican border. Miami
Herald, March 6 (p. 7A).
Hebel, S. (2002). National-security concerns spur congressional
interest in language programs. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
March 15 (p. A26).
Linn, A. (2001). Boeing expected to lay off 30,000. Miami Herald,
September 19 (pp. 1C, 4C).
Long, P. (2001). On guard in the sky: F-15s ready to block terrorism.
Miami Herald, December 26 (pp. 1A, 27A).
Merzer, M., & Chatterjee, S. (2001). Bush: skies safe, so start flying.
Miami Herald, September 28 (pp. 1A–2A).
Miami Herald. (2001a). News summary. September 17 (p. 3A).
Miami Herald. (2001b). Disaster site cleanup could take a year.
January 17 (p. 26A).
Nieves, G. E., & Samuels, A. (2001). National guard adds to security at
airports. Miami Herald, October 6 (pp. 1B–2B).
Ordine, B. (2001). Las Vegas feels effects of September 11. Miami
Herald, October 21 (p. 5J).
Tan, S. (2001a). Hotels hope tourist drought ends soon. Nationwide
losses could reach $2B. Miami Herald, September 28 (pp. 1C–2C).
Tan, S. (2001b). Liquid assets: bottled water business flows smoothly.
Miami Herald, October 6 (p. 1C).
Tan, S. (2001c). South Florida employers expected to cut jobs in 2002.
Miami Herald. Business Monday, November 19 (p. 8A).
Wooldridge, J. (2001). What should we expect from airlines, cruise
lines? Miami Herald, September 23 (pp. 1J, 7J).
Further reading
Anatomy of a Disaster. (2001). Editorial in the Miami Herald,
September 16 (p. 8M).
Brinkley-Rogers, P. (2001). Tourism drought: Miami business
struggles to survive hard times. Miami Herald, October 1, 2002
(pp. 1B–2B).
Bussey, J. (2001). Travelers’ flight plans put in holding pattern. Miami
Herald, September 17 (p. 13A).
Bussey, J., & Fields, G. (2001). Economy could be pushed into
recession. South Florida may suffer more. September 13 (p. 20A).
Cabral, E. (2001). Cruises: News gets to travelers at sea. Miami Herald,
September 17 (p. 13A).
Chandler, M. (2001). Lease fees eased for taxis. Drivers still hurt by
tourism woes. Miami Herald, September 29 (pp. 1C, 3C.)
Colon, Y. (2001). Caribbean launches campaign for tourists. Miami
Herald, October 13 (p. 1C).
Colon, Y. (2001). Islands seek aid to fund airport security. Miami
Herald, October 12 (pp. 1C, 3C).
Colon, Y. (2001). Jamaica sends note of sorrow, hope. Island
launches campaign to win back travelers. Miami Herald, September
27 (pp. 1C, 3C).
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J.N. Goodrich / Tourism Management 23 (2002) 573–580
Cooper, J. C. (2001). A recession may be inevitable. Business Week,
September 24 (pp. 29–30).
Danner, P. (2001). Certified vacations chops employees. Miami Herald,
September 22 (pp. 1C–2C).
de Galle, Anabelle. (2001). Get Away from it all—at home. Hotels
offer Florida discounts. Miami Herald, October 1 (p. 2B).
DeMarzo, W. J. (2001). Travelers turn to train, cars. Miami Herald,
September 22 (p. 3C).
Elliott, A. (2001). Scams exploiting tragedy hit the state. Miami
Herald, September 23 (p. 3B).
Fields, G. (2001). Cost of tragedy defies calculation. Miami Herald,
September 16 (pp. 1E–2E).
Fields, G. (2001). State starts campaign to lure tourist. Miami Herald,
October 1 (pp. 1A–2A).
James, J. (2001). Tourism executives press state for help. Miami
Herald, September 12 (p. 3C).
Lewin, T. (2001). Businesses pledge $100 million. Miami Herald,
September 16 (p. 24A).
Martin, L. (2001). Plunge in tourism wallops New York. Miami
Herald, September 21 (p. 17A).
Miami Herald. (2002). 4 months after attacks, fears of toxic air in
N.Y.C. surface, January 13 (p. 25A).
Ogintz, E. (2001). Children, too, experience fear of flying, leaving
home. Miami Herald, September 23 (p. 6J).
Pizam, A., Tarlow, P. (Guest Eds.) (1999). War, terrorism, tourism:
Times of crises and recovery (Special Issue). The Journal of Travel
Research, 38 (1).
Recio, M. (2001). Congress O.K.’s $15B package for airlines. Miami
Herald, September 22 (pp. 1C, 3C).
Ross, K. (2001). Penelas declares economic emergency. Miami Herald,
October 3 (pp. 1A, 7A).
Shain, J. (2001). Attacks delay Ryder Cup. Miami Herald, September
17 (pp. 1D, 4D).
Smith, G. (1999). Toward a United States policy on traveler safety
and security: 1980–2000. On war, terrorism, and tourism (Special
Issue). Journal of Travel Research, August, pp. 62–66.
Tan, S. (2001). Penelas urges public to help local tourism. Miami
Herald, September 25 (p. 1C).
Wallsten, P., James, J. (2001). Florida’s fiscal outlook. Governor fears
effects on tourism, trade. Miami Herald, September 13 (p. 9A).