Television
screens are often filled with the images of exotic locations and promises of
unbelievably low travel costs. These advertisements do their best to make
travel appealing, however, international travel rates have still dropped over
the past few years. Although many factors could be involved, the media has had
a large influence on this decrease in international travel in the United
States.
The Numbers
Statistics
certainly support the idea that the media influenced this drop in international
travel. Consider the following numbers.
- 2002: the number of US Residents
traveling overseas dropped 7%
- 2003-2007: the number of international
travelers continually increased by 4-12% each year
- 2008-2011: international travel rates
began to decrease once again by 1-5% per year (International Trade Association)
There
were no historical events that could have had such a great impact on airline
travel, however, the news’ exaggeration of terrorism and an influx of terrorism
films could certainly explain this drop.
News Bias
The
bias of the news has a great impact on how the public views travel. News
stations tend to try to outdo each other by finding the most outrageous and
exciting stories to get people’s attention. In doing so, they often exaggerate
the truth to appeal to the emotions of their audience.
This
is fine for many subjects, but when it comes to terrorism, a matter that is
already frightening and emotionally stimulating, it can make the public feel
even more fearful and threatened. For this reason they are less likely to
travel, especially outside the country, where they feel terrorism is more of a
danger.
Fear-inducing
films
It
is also no surprise that people view other countries warily when the movie
theaters are filled with films such as:
· Vantage Point
· Traitor
· Body of Lies
· Taken
These
films all focus on terrorism and make the public even more afraid of
international travel. For example, the premise of Taken is
a teenage girl who goes to Paris with her friend. There they are kidnapped by
human traffickers. This sends the message that foreign countries are extremely dangerous,
and that Americans can be victimized more easily there.
Here is a trailer which illustrates how these movies cause fear.
Here is a trailer which illustrates how these movies cause fear.
Figure 1. Taken Trailer. 2009. Video. Youtube.com. Web. 3 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbDUREBwUg>
Through dramatic news stories and
fear-inducing films, the media makes people feel more threatened and is
therefore influential in the decrease in international travel. It is impacting
our views of other countries negatively and forcing United States citizens to miss out on enriching
and eye-opening experiences that visiting other countries could offer them. The media greatly affects many things, and in this case, our desire to
and concerns about travel.
Works Cited
International Trade
Association. "2011 United States Residents Travel Abroad." July 2012. International Trade
Association. Document. 30 Oct. 2012.
Taken Trailer. 2009. Video. Youtube.com. Web. 3 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbDUREBwUg>
