ABSTRACT
The concluding chapter focuses on identifying key common themes and issues that have emerged from the specific examples and more general conceptual discussions. It begins with a brief review of the problems resulting from conflict being seen and encouraged as an attraction for visitation by tourists. This is followed by a contrasting examination of conflict as a barrier for visitation, these first two discussions illustrating the often contradictory and problematic views of conflict and its relationship with tourism. The chapter then reviews the issue of who or which agencies should be seen as the guardians of tourism during and post-conflict, and how tourists and those involved in tourism should interact with such bodies. One of the main issues to be resolved is how destinations in conflict areas can be made more resilient and better able to withstand the horrors and difficulties of engaging in a leisure activity in the midst of conflict and its aftermath. This leads to a review of whether tourism has a role in resolving conflict, an issue which has been discussed but not settled over many years, with the hope that contact between opposing or opposed groups can lead to peace, if not total agreement. Last, the chapter comments on how the various conflicts have been represented and the discourses argued in these destinations, noting the contrasting views still being expressed through a variety of media, images and information. There is a short final comment acknowledging that many questions remain to be asked – as well as answered – about the impacts of conflict on tourism and tourist destinations.
