Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry – Beating the Odds?

Citation

O'Connor, N. (2010), "Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry – Beating the Odds?", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 582-584. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596111011042776

A crisis can act as a “wake up” call for any business or industry and provides an opportunity to re‐evaluate and/or streamline the manner in which activities are conducted. Industry must maintain flexible structures to enable an effective response in times of crises – adjusting marketing strategies, pricing structures and operating costs are all examples of such flexibility. Industry members need to stress test their business first by factoring a crisis into their strategic plans, and next by ensuring there is no over dependence on any one market. There will be a reliance on domestic market in times of crisis which can be supplemented by the targeting people who have a perceived connection to the destination that has been attacked. Such connections may provide industry with the time to explore new overseas and niche markets. The tourism industry is likely in the future to experience further crises, such as a terrorist attack, which will present challenges for the survival of the industry. While the need to travel is innate our ability to understand the decision making process is complex as it is influenced by a number of factors, external, internal and demographic (O'Connor et al., 2008).

Christof Pforr and Peter Hosie edited this book. It consisted of 14 chapters written by a variety of international researchers and academic practitioners that describe the issues and challenges facing crisis management. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 (Chapters 1‐6) introduces the concept of crisis management from a theoretical perspective while Part 2 (Chapters 7‐13) applies this theory to a variety of global case studies ranging from Phuket, Australia, the Maldives, China, the Eurobodalla Region (Australia), South East Asia, Sri Lanka to Israel. Part 2 provides a critical review of the related literature and a discussion of the findings and implications of case studies highlighted previously. Furthermore, ways in which any related crisis management issues as applied to tourism can be managed are highlighted.

Chapter 1 (by Christof Pforr and Peter Hosie) gives the reader a brief insight into what is going to be discussed in a well thought out manner as it sets the scene for the remainder of the book. This chapter gives the reader an overview of each chapter and how the book is going to flow. The following chapter, Chapter 2 was written by Bella Butler and it looked at “Crisis Management and Security: Strategise versus Improvise in a Turbulent Environment”. It was a very easy to read chapter and up to date literature was used. Chapter 2 was very theoretically based as no case study was used. The role of strategic planning, the role of learning, improvisation and their link were crisis management was discussed.

Samir Ranjan Chatterjee and Cecil Arthur Leonard Pearson developed Chapter 2 “From Conception to Implementation: Towards a Crisis Management Framework”. They looked at the challenges facing the development of a conceptual tourism related organisation and they suggested that a “holistic theoretical perspective” is needed in the underpinning of a theoretical framework for a service oriented industry such as tourism. Chapter 4 by Christof Pforr provided an impressive synopsis into the emergent literature on crisis management in tourism. An extensive literature review was undertaken in Chapter 4 would provide any academic researching the crisis management concept, an invaluable insight into this topic.

Chapter 5 – “Tourism Crisis Management, Knowledge Management and Organisational Learning” by Deborah Blackman and Brent W. Ritchie is a very detailed chapter on Crisis Management which is supported by diagrams which reinforces the basic concepts of Crisis Management as applied to the tourism discipline. The Framework and the Crisis Evaluation Processes model will be invaluable to tourism academics as Butler's Destination Life Cycle was in the 1980's and to a certain extent, today. Chapter 6 by Peter Hosie – “Human Resources Management (HRM): Proactive Preparation to Manage Crises” introduces the whole area of HRM which is often overlooked when researching Crisis Management. This chapter fits in nicely with the theme of the book but more discussion on the future implications of Crisis Management as related to HRM would strengthen this chapter.

At the beginning of Part 2, Chapter 7 by Alan Nankervis looks at the “Vulnerability and Sustainability in Tourism; Lessons from Phuket”. The Vulnerability Analysis Model (VAM) Model was used to further develop the concept of vulnerability analysis as a practical planning tool to assess the degree of impact of multiple threats on the tourism industry. It is a very detailed model, which worked well in the case study used – The Seaview Hotel, Phuket. This case study suggested that a hotel might be adversely affected by the perception of the destinations safety by potential tourist markets prior to their arrival. In Chapter 8 (Terrorism, Tourism, Wellbeing and sense of Security: The Case of Australia) by Alfred Michael Dockery is an excellent chapter with a great use of figures/diagram to supplement the analysis being undertaken. It began with an introduction to the relationship between tourism and terrorism, which led very nicely into to the Australian case study. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey was well used and it redefined the key points under investigation. The literature review was very well integrated with the data under discussion.

In Chapter 9 “Disaster Response and Tourism Recovery Strategies in the Maldives” written by Jack Carlsen, uses a vey topical case study which underlined the growing problems that the Maldives have continued to encounter as a result of 2004 Tsunami. His analysis of the French and Italian markets gives a real feel to this chapter and it one of the most interesting chapters that I have read on the topic of disaster response. Chapter 10 (Training for Crises Responses: A Case Study of Chinese Medical Professionals) by Cecil Arthur Leonard Pearson and Samir Ranjan Chatterjee used Chinese Medical Professionals as the case study for this chapter which is unusual in a tourism‐related book. This chapter was very well researched, structured and presented the case study in a very professional manner. As it was not a typically tourism related case study, it gave the reader a different perspective on the how adapted crisis management can be.

Acushla Felix, Ross K. Dowling and Raguragavan Ganeshasundaram looked at the “Precautions Against Future Tsunamis: A Case Study of Galle District, Sri Lanka” in Chapter 11. Sri Lanka was an ideal case study to use in relation to Tsunamis due to it impact that it had on the island. This chapter began with an introduction to the concept of Crisis Management and Disaster Recovery, then it looked at the case study under review and mentioned the the aftermath of the tsunami itself. The Recovery Process: Sources and Types of Assistance and Limitations were clearly explained and the Precautionary Measures mentioned could be used to benchmark against other case studies. Chapter 12 by Tracey J. Dickson (A Exploration of Risk Management Strategies in regional Tourism Businesses: The Case of Eurobodalla Region) was a thoroughly researched and developed chapter. The primary data was well presented and integrated into the literature efficiently. The use of graphs/diagrams is a key element of this chapter, which has a great visual impact for the reader. The chapter concluded with a suggestive insight in to future research areas, which is a major strength of this chapter.

Chapter 13 “Crisis and Post – Crisis Tourism Destination Recovery Marketing Strategies” by David Beirman used the the SARS Virus breakout in Asia and Israel are the basis for this chapter. Israel is on an insightful case to use and Beirman investigates Israel's attempt to restore their tourism image following many deadly terrorist incidents there. He looks at the Project Phoenix Recovery Programme devised by Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA) to counteract the SARS virus issues in the Pacific Rim countries and also Israel's Tourism Recovery from 2003‐2006. Chapter 14 by Peter Hosie and Christof Pforr (Conclusion: Beating the Odds!) is a detailed synopsis of the book, which summarises each chapter with great precision.

The book presents some interesting information on an under‐researched and an up‐to‐date area of crisis management. This research could be expanded further and used as a comparative case study with another western destination such as the UK, Spain and Ireland who have all experienced crisis management situations in relation to terrorism for example. On a more positive note, the book is appropriate for the topic under discussion and there is an excellent use of current research findings. It is based on a very interesting topic, which will make a valuable contribution to the tourism and crisis management literature.