Tourism in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings: Lessons from Cyprus, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka

Tourism is an important sector for the economic recovery when it comes to post-conflict regions and it contributes to job creation, new investments 1 and destination branding 2 .The countries that will be analyzed in this study are Cyprus, Ukraine and Sri Lanka, which present post-conflict contexts.Cyprus experienced political division after 1974, resulting in the de facto separation of the island into a southern and a northern part, which affected political governance and the destination image 3 .Before this division, the island had experienced rapid tourism growth, with international arrivals increasing from 25,700 in 1960 to approximately 264,000 in 1973 (Plan Bleu Regional Activity Centre, 2002) 4 .Even though there was a recovery in the southern region of Cyprus, the northern part has remained constrained by the limited recognition of the infrastructure challenges, which highlight the long term impact of the division of tourism productivity 5 .1