Tourism and Peace

One of the consequences of modernity in recent centuries has been the expansion of mass communication and the ease of travel to places that, in earlier centuries, were inaccessible due to the lack of suitable means of transport, insufficient security, and exorbitant costs. The ease of travel and the expansion of mass communication have led to greater familiarity between people belonging to one land/culture/religion and people belonging to other lands/cultures/religions, and have, of course, had reciprocal effects on both groups of people. These reciprocal effects can lead to religious/cultural tolerance, pluralism, and consequently, peace.

Peace is a familiar term, usually defined in opposition to war. In relations between individuals, groups, or nations, if there is no state of conflict and hostility, that state is interpreted as peace. In a state of peace, differences, disagreements, and conflicts do not disappear but are tolerated and accepted. In this sense, peace has a deep relationship with tolerance and pluralism. Many grounds can be enumerated for war, but what I have in mind are two factors: epistemological and psychological. In the epistemological dimension, the war-mongering person/group/nation, firstly, considers itself to be in the right—that is, it considers its belief, property, or land to be in accordance with the truth—and secondly, considers the belief, property, or land of another to be contrary to the truth and false. In the psychological dimension, due to the absence of emotional bonds, causing harm and inflicting suffering on another holds little importance. Now the question is whether tourism can act as an obstacle to the emergence or expansion of war. In my view, tourism can play a role as an obstacle to war in both the epistemological and psychological aspects. Familiarity with the beliefs/convictions of other people usually causes a shaking of one's own dogmatic certainties and dogmas. When most people encounter the beliefs of other people, they usually see that those others are just as sincere in their convictions and have reasons for them as they themselves do; in other words, the epistemological value of the beliefs and convictions of both groups is on par. This often happens in the realm of cultural and religious beliefs. In the psychological realm, the familiarity of tourists with the people of other lands leads to friendships, interactions, and associations that can, over time, create emotional bonds and make causing harm and adding to the pain and suffering of others significant to them. Accepting plurality in the realm of beliefs and convictions and the creation of emotional bonds between individuals/groups/nations with one another cannot, of course, completely prevent the occurrence and continuation of wars, but it can be useful as a factor in slowing down the process of wars and expanding peace further.