Just finished reading an article in the Sydney Morning Herald by Satu Raunola about boycotting certain countries around the world because of their hardline governments, lack of social justice, human rights records and so on.
The author states that the idea of boycotting certain countries on the above grounds is not a new concept:
"Of course, travel boycotts are nothing new: when the Greek military staged a coup in 1967, right-thinking jetsetters scratched Mykonos from the itinerary. When the French let off a nuclear bomb in the Pacific, New Caledonia was "banned". And travel in Burma has long been contentious because of the human rights abuses carried out by that country's hardline regime."
There is mixed evidence whether these boycotts actually have any effect in change, in fact maybe "by staying away all you 're doing is hurting people who depend on tourism dollars to survive".
This is certainly the case if you punish the Balinese people for the way the Indonesian government has treated terrorists within their own. Fiji is another place where political instability could seriously affect the nation's image but where boycotting seems to have little or no effect.
I know that if I had listened to the American political administration I would have missed out on the beauty and fun that is Cuba. That would be a tragedy not only for the Cuban people but also for me.
Boycotting Countries
