Crisis Management in Tourism

SUMMARY

Anticipating and preparing to deal with the threat of crises precipitated by disaster from natural and people-made catastrophes is an important challenge facing tourism. As an industry tourism is particularly susceptible to such negative events putting the sector under almost constant threat of a crisis. Before the catastrophes of 9/11 and the Asian Tsunami of 2004 crisis management in tourism was essentially a reactive response, as opposed to a state of proactive anticipation. A review of the emerging literature on crisis management in tourism is given to identify the foci of the current academic discourse. More systematic input by human resource management was identified as a way to assist tourism businesses in preparing for and dealing with crises. By discussing crisis management within a services management context, a contribution is made to the debate on the need for proactive crisis management within the tourism industry. A central plank to this position is that the preparation stage of crisis management in tourism is the actual beginning of any strategic response to recovery. Well conceived and executed human development is promoted as an initiative and key component of crisis preparation and management. Developing the potential of human capital at the industry and enterprise level to deal with crisis management is a way of reducing the vulnerability of tourism enterprises to crises. Measures are suggested that may be taken to prepare tourism businesses for crisis situations.     

The Role of Market Orientation in Managing Crises During the Post-Crisis Phase

SUMMARY

The tourism business around the world, as one of the most susceptible and vulnerable sectors, must often manage and survive global crises. In recent years the global tourism industry has experienced major crises, such as terrorist attacks, political instability, economic recession, biosecurity threats and natural disasters. The most well-known cases bear testimony to the fact that crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, tourism management capabilities and abilities to deal with complex and critical situations are limited. The time has come to develop an understanding of factors that can help tourism businesses prepare a way of getting through such crises by examining the role of market orientation and its antecedents during a post-crisis phase. This paper is concerned with the effects of several organizational factors on market orientation in airlines during the post-crisis phase of the terrorist attacks of “9/11.” The results indicate that top management factors, interdepartmental factors and organizational systems have a positive effect on market orientation after a crisis has occurred.     

Crisis Management and Tourism

Summary

Undoubtedly, the tourism industry is one of the most susceptible and vulnerable industries to crises. Recent major events that had devastating impacts on the industry ranges from natural disasters to epidemics, and from mismanagement to terrorist attacks. These kinds of episodes are not confined to any geographical region, as crises respect no political or cultural boundaries. Two major recent events illustrate this point: the BSE crisis in the UK in the 1990s, which was followed by the foot and mouth disease in 2000 and 2001, crippled the industry in several regions of England. Most recently, the events of September 11th in New York and Washington changed the way the industry operates forever. Crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, it has been observed that tourism management capability and ability to deal with complex and critical situations are limited.

This paper discusses the concept of crisis management and its relevance to tourism. It presents an overview of the general trends in tourism crises events of the last two decades, assesses the impacts of major man-made crises on the industry, and argues for the importance of crisis management in tourism management. The paper also discusses the complex issue of crisis definition and its implications for organizations, and provides an operational definition of crisis management. Critical issues in crisis management, such as crisis anatomy, crisis incubation, risk perception in tourism and destination image, are discussed. Finally, the paper explores and analyses, in the context of crisis anatomy, the public sector handling of a major resort pollution crisis in Southern Brazil.     

Developing a Research Agenda for Tourism Crisis Management,Market Recovery and Communications

SUMMARY

This article focuses on the need to develop a comprehensive research agenda for crisis management and market recovery in tourism. A review of the literature on research into risk, crisis and disaster management indicates that research has emerged on an ad hoc basis. Analysis of a database of over 2400 relevant references supports the need for a research agenda that will focus on crisis management and market recovery and communications, rather than prevention. The BEST Education Network research agenda on risk and crisis management for sustainable tourism is then presented as a basis for further development of a crisis management and market recovery research agenda. In particular, it elaborates on research issues related to the communication during tourism crises, assessing strategies for market recovery and understanding these issues from the DMO's perspective.     

Tourism Crises and Marketing Recovery Strategies

SUMMARY

The recent frequency and intensity of crises and disasters affecting the tourism industry has resulted in a growing body of research into their causes, effects and management, as the bibliographies of the ensuing papers catalogue. To date, most papers and collections of research have taken a broad approach, describing the origins of a particular event which triggered a tourism crises, followed by an examination of the differential effects of the crisis on local residents, staff, tourists and tourism organizations or the environment and infrastructure. They have also discussed rescue efforts and the complexity of management tasks in the immediate aftermath of an event, often pointing to the need for preplanning to mitigate the consequences of any future disaster. Other researchers have contributed directly to the academic debate about how to theorise tourism crisis management, often by drawing on the wider crisis management literature.

The present collection of research differs in that it focuses on one phase of the tasks which managers face after the immediate consequences of a crisis have been dealt with. This phase addresses the question of how to rebuild the market for a tourism service or a destination which has experienced a significant catastrophe, and how to learn from the experience in planning for future crisis response strategies. It is suggested in this paper that the challenges are actually more varied and complex than is implied by the suggestion, found in much of the literature, that the task is about ‘restoring normality.’ The chaos and complexity experienced in the aftermath of a crisis raise general issues of how organizations learn and adapt to change.     

Communicating Tourism Crises Through Destination Websites

SUMMARY

The present paper addresses the issue of communicating tourism crises, with a special focus on the role of the destination marketing organization's Web sites. The risks and impact of the avian flu on the mobility of people, and consequently therefore, on tourism has been addressed. Selected tourism destinations crisis communication strategies were investigated through their Web sites. The findings should (a) bring to the attention of tourism authorities the potential role that destinations' Web sites have in helping to prevent worldwide diseases and to compare different approaches adopted by different types of destinations, and (b) help governments, destinations and other stakeholders to understand the conditions necessary for communicating tourism crises and outbreaks by using their Web sites as effective tools to better share information among them.     

Crisis Management and Its Impact on Destination Marketing

Abstract

This paper analyzes the crisis management procedures utilized by four specific Convention and Visitors Bureaus in a variety of disaster situations and locations across the United States. The crises studied are representative of both man-made and natural disasters, and occurred in destinations in which tourism plays a significant role. From these case studies, a comprehensive set of crisis management procedures was compiled for the benefit of Convention and Visitors Bureaus nationwide. Such standardized crisis management procedures will presumably contribute to a faster and more efficient recovery for any destination after a crisis, as these procedures have been used in actual crisis situations.     

Crisis Management—

SUMMARY

This paper reviews the crisis preparedness of the Greek passenger shipping industry after two widely publicized crises events (Superfast III and Express Samina). As far as Greece is concerned, the travel and tourism industry is one of the most significant contributors to the country's GDP at a rate of more than 10% and the country's passenger shipping industry contributes fundamentally to this figure. Overall findings suggest that both the State as well as the passenger shipping companies encompass crisis management tools and mechanisms to protect the industry, and the whole Greek tourism sector. This paper also identifies the 'ripple effect,' the wider implications a crisis can have on the business environment. Therefore the Faulkner (2001a,b) model for tourism disaster management framework is adapted to accommodate permanent changes enforced on the whole industry as an outcome of a crisis situation.     

Crisis Communication and Recovery for the Tourism Industry

Abstract

As the number of disasters and crises affecting the tourism industry increases, it is becoming necessary to understand the nature of these disasters and how to manage and limit the impacts of such incidents. This paper defines crises and disasters before discussing the area of crisis communication management and crisis communication in the tourism industry. The paper then applies the foot and mouth disease (FMD) which occurred in the United Kingdom to crisis communication theory at a national level (by examining the response of the British Tourist Authority) and at a local level (by examining the response of a District Council). The response was limited in part because of a lack of preparedness, but also due to the nature of the foot and mouth outbreak, and the speed and severity of international media coverage. Action was taken in the emergency phase of the crisis and was reactive involving inconsistency in developing key messages to stakeholders, partly due to confusion and a lack of information at the national level. Recovery marketing was also limited due to the length of time of the disease outbreak. This paper provides lessons for destinations and organisations are discussed which may help develop crisis communication strategies for tourism organisations.     

Tourism crises and island destinations: Experiences in Penang,Malaysia

Crisis management and tourism is attracting increasing attention as an industry practice and subject of academic enquiry, not least in South East Asia which has been affected by a number of severe crises in recent years. However, organisations are not always well prepared and response strategies can be deficient. The paper discusses issues of tourism crisis management with specific reference to the popular Malaysian destination of Penang. Findings are based on qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviews with industry leaders from assorted sectors. Tourism in Penang emerges as vulnerable to regional and global events which act as a trigger for tourism crises, demanding a response in which various strategies are employed. The destination is also seen to recover fairly quickly from experiences of crises, but a well designed and formulated tourism crisis management plan under the stewardship of the public sector is necessary to mitigate further damage in the future.     

Memory and forgetfulness in tourism crisis research

Even though academic attention has been paid on the tourism-memory nexus, the concept of forgetfulness in tourism has been largely overlooked and remains unexplored. The aim of this research note is to introduce the concept of forgetfulness alongside memory within tourism scholarship to discuss the way in which it may be integrated with future research. In so doing, the discussion focused on a tourist crisis context as tourists’ post-crisis behaviour often reflects forgetfulness as evidenced by their travel resumption patterns. Overall, by linking the concepts of forgetfulness and tourism, this research note contributes to knowledge advancement on tourism crises by shifting attention away from risk perceptions towards an understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes influencing tourist behaviour. The research note also illuminates understanding of how crises are forgotten; hence, contributes to the improvement of crisis management strategies. The research note concludes by proposing an agenda for future research.     

Structural breaks in international tourism demand: Are they caused by crises or disasters?

It is recognised that the tourism industry is vulnerable to some form of crises or disaster. However, despite the attention given to the nature and consequences of tourism crises and disasters, there is a gap in the literature regarding the ex-post detection of these events. In this article, we estimate both the number and date of structural breaks in international tourism arrival series for 25 countries and Madeira Island using the Bai and Perron (1998) structural break test. We compare the date of tourism crises and disasters to the dating of these structural breaks. We observe that tourism crises and disasters are largely consistent with the dates of breaks. Therefore, this method allows us to solve a gap in the tourism industry related to the correct allocation of negative shocks in international tourism arrival demand to crisis or disaster phenomena.     

The Heart Recovery Marketing Campaign

SUMMARY

Crisis communication plans and marketing recovery campaigns are a key component of destination recovery after crises or disasters. Despite increasing researcher and practitioner interest in crisis and disaster management, further analysis of these components of recovery is warranted. This article contributes to this growing body of research by analysing the advertising components of a recovery marketing campaign developed and implemented immediately after bushfires in the Australian Capital Territory in 2003. The findings are drawn from relevant documents, marketing collateral and in-depth interviews with government agencies, professional associations and businesses. Despite a lack of relevant plans, the marketing campaign was an effective exercise in crisis communication under temporal and resource constraints and demonstrated application of research, rapid response, financial support, consistency of messages, honest and open communication and evaluation. Planning, training and further analytical case study research is recommended.     

Business resilience in times of growth and crisis

Natural disaster, economic recession and political turmoil pose major challenges to local tourism in developing countries. To address such challenges, this article investigates the multiple ways in which local tourism businesses respond to crises and the resources these businesses employ to build resilience in an unpredictable business environment. The data underlying this article have been generated in a longitudinal study of small-scale businesses in the accommodation sector in the city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Based on qualitative research, comprising ethnographic methods, the study reveals that local tourism businesses show remarkable resilience during the decade of crisis that affected the Indonesian tourism industry. This resilience has to be understood in terms of the businesses’ embeddedness in a package of livelihood strategies.     

A thematic analysis of crisis management in tourism: A theoretical perspective

The hospitality and tourism industry for a variety of reasons is vulnerable to crises of various origins and scope. Thereby, research regarding crises in this industry has received significant attention among scholars. This study presents the results of a qualitative thematic analysis (TA) of the literature concerning crisis management in hospitality and tourism. A total of 207 research publications from 1986 to 2019 were analyzed. The findings revealed eight major themes that emerged in the literature over time. We critically discuss these themes with suggestions and directions for future research in this area. The study also identifies a shortage of scholarly attempt to conceptualize crisis management and thus explores the sensemaking perspective to shed further light on explaining the themes that emerged in the analysis.     

Profiling the Strategic Marketing Activities of Small Tourism Businesses

Abstract

This study profiles the strategic marketing activities of small tourism businesses, by examining the extent to which they engage in specified practices which may be broadly described as “strategic.” It was found that city-based enterprises are more strategic in their emphasis than their rural counterparts, and that larger small businesses are more strategic than smaller small businesses. Businesses which engage in product packaging appear to be more strategic than those which do not. Possible explanations for the relatively low incidence of strategic marketing amongst small tourism business generally are a lack of managerial expertise and the absence of staff to whom tasks may be delegated.     

Crisis Management Planning to Restore Tourism After Disasters

SUMMARY

The tourism industry is vulnerable to natural and human induced incidents such as terrorist attacks, political instability, flood and earthquakes. On September 21st 1999, a devastating earthquake struck Taiwan which caused severe damage to both local people and the tourism industry. This paper proposes an innovative integrated approach that could be adopted as a crisis management plan for Taiwan to restore its tourism industry. A thorough review of the crisis management literature is introduced and examined to generate an integrated crisis management framework. It is anticipated that this framework could accelerate tourism recovery by showing secure images for tourists, and hence the competitiveness of a tourist nation could be enhanced through sound crisis management practices.     

Navigating the uncharted: A crisis response mix to creeping ‘unknowns’

Creeping crises have received limited attention in crisis management. With a backdrop of COVID-19, we explore how tourism organisations can address unprecedented creeping crises. We propose and test a creeping crisis response matrix qualitatively and quantitatively by analysing 108 earnings calls from 22 hotel groups covering the first 16 months of the pandemic. Some cannot detect creeping crises during the incubation periods or the later re-emergence, whereas early exposure gives an advantage in crisis response. Contrary to conventional wisdom, organisational responses to unknown crises are not always reactive, with organisations deploying a varied mix of responses (reactive, adaptive, protective and proactive) even in the early stages of a crisis. As the framing of the crisis improves, crisis responses shift from survival to full-on experimentation, to response by design and then to response by protocol. The proposed matrix can be used as a response roadmap for navigating future, unknown, creeping crises.     

Tourism Crisis Management and Organizational Learning

SUMMARY

To date limited attention has been provided on the review stage of the crisis management framework, despite the importance of organizational learning for developing effective tourism crisis strategies. Using the concepts of double loop learning (Argyris and Schon, 1996), doubting (Blackman and Henderson, 2004) and Preskill and Torres (1999) core processes of evaluative enquiry, the paper discusses the possible application of critical evaluative inquiry and managed reflection by DMOs. The paper recommends that DMOs question their existing knowledge, assumptions and beliefs through reflection and dialogue with stakeholders and collect and analyse information, not just related to confirming the success of crisis strategies, but to assesses the likely impact of alternatives. Challenging existing mental models and capturing this emergent knowledge should enable DMOs to develop even better tourism crisis communication strategies in the future.     

Chaos, crises and disasters: a strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry

This paper outlines and discusses a strategic and holistic approach to crisis management for the tourism industry. It notes the growing importance of crisis and disaster management for the tourism industry before exploring the definitions and nature of crises and disasters. The paper then proposes a strategic approach to their management from proactive pre-crisis planning through strategic implementation and finally evaluation and feedback. A discussion of crisis and disaster management literature and studies conducted in the tourism field are also introduced. It notes that although crises and disasters cannot be stopped their impacts can be limited by both public and private sector managers. The paper concludes that the understanding and subsequent management of such incidents can be vastly improved through the extension and application of crisis and disaster management theory and concepts from other disciplines, coupled with the development of specific tourism crisis management research and frameworks.