Tourism at the borders of conflict and (de)militarized zones

Abstract

[Extract] At the beginning of the 21st century, tourists enjoy the privilege of being able to travel to almost any place on the globe, largely free of heavy government restriction, with only a handful of exceptions. As Timothy (1995b, 2001) observed, there are few borders travellers cannot cross. As a consequence the early 21st century can be described as a golden age of travel, where borders are not fixed barriers and where those who have the means can travel to almost any corner of the world. There are, of course, exceptions. Citizens of several countries have limited travel rights as a consequence of home government restrictions; other citizens lack the accumulated wealth necessary to finance travel; and there are still some borders that divide belligerent nations.