The hotel industry and foreign travellers are facing an increased threat of terrorism, according to global intelligence organisation STRATFOR.
In the last few years, Islamic militants have changed their focus to more soft targets such as hotels, which has less security, the STRATFOR Special Security Report claims.
“Hotels are often full of Western business travellers, diplomats and intelligence officers. This makes them targets for militants seeking to kill Westerners and gain media attention,” said the report.
The success of the Mumbai attacks on two luxury hotels and the dramatic news coverage it received suggests that there is a risk of copycat attacks, STRATFOR predicts.
Hotels have been reluctant to incur the costs of adding security in the past, or do not want to inconvenience guests by imposing identity checks, according to the Texas-based firm. However, they may have to take notice following recent lawsuits.
“Given the highly competitive nature of the industry, hotel owners often have been forced to take the calculated risk that their business will not be targeted. However, hotel owners might have to change this mentality,” it said.