Dealing with Tourism Crises

[Peter Tarlow]

The tourism industry is highly vulnerable to crises be these man made or nature made, be these crises of a political, health or natural variety.  Almost since the start of modern tourism, tourism professionals have had to take into account that the media devotes a great deal of time and space to disasters, especially if these disasters result in the loss of life, cause suffering, and produce some form of economic damage.  During the period of time when the media focus in on the crisis, media coverage becomes a secondary crisis in and of itself and can threaten a tourist destinations reputation by negatively affecting visitors' perceptions of the locale.

For this reason tourism destinations cannot wait until a disaster has occurred in planning for a potential marketing crisis. Rather than wait until there is a crisis, the smart tourism professional will have a multitude of plans ready in the hope that he or she will never need to implement that plan.  Perhaps the boy scout motto of “be prepared” is one that every tourism professional should also make his or her own.  Then should a disaster occur then the plan can be modified to meet specific needs. To help you begin to develop a tourism disaster plan here are a few ideas:

-Determine what type of disaster is occurring.  In any disaster the first rule of marketing is to take a step back and to determine (1) is this really a disaster and (2) what type of disaster is it.    The word marketing disaster can refer to anything from negative publicity due to a political or ethical gaff to negative publicity due to a physical tragedy.  Thus, the first rule of marketing disaster management is to determine exactly what is the disaster.  Is it a physical disaster, a public relations disaster, a weather related disaster?  It may not be what happened but rather how you handled what happened.

 

-Get out in front of the media.  The first person to speak about a problem often defines the problem and its scope.  It is essential that the tourism professional take control of the situation right from the very beginning and that s/he determines how the disaster is presented to the public.

-Tell the truth and do not be defensive.  When faced with any form of media disaster do not increase the disaster by lying or becoming defensive.  It is a lot better to tell your side of the story in clear and eloquent terms.  Focus less on what happened and more on how you are or are planning to deal with the issue.  Be specific and remember that most people today can see through spin and creative marketing fiction.  Using such spin only tends to increase the length of time that the media deals with the story and prolongs your agony.

-Have a coordinate effort.  One of the greatest errors that you can do when faced with a marketing disaster is lack of coordination.  Know who is in charge and defer to that person/persons.  Do not try to second-guess the person in charge. On the other hand if those in charge are failing to get beyond the media crisis and do not seem to have a viable plan to handle the marketing disaster, then further action must be taken.  It is not an error to change the course of action if the action is not working.

-Determine if the disaster is the event or the way the event is being handled Often a major problem in managing a marketing disaster is not what has happened but what is perceived to have happened. In tourism, this means changing perceptions to truth and focusing in what you are doing to solve the problem.  Give as many problem-solving specifics as possible and do not be afraid to admit that you do not have all the answers.  People can accept that fact that you do not know an answer but have a harder time accepting the fact that you are hiding something from them or not telling the truth.

-Try to bring negative news coverage to its conclusion as soon as possible. Know the news cycle and how you can turn the media's attention away from you.  Assuming that the incident is producing negative coverage for you and hurting you in both the short and long term then the faster you can leave a new cycle the better that will be for your location.

Develop a simple message that can be repeated over and over again.  The acronym KISS (keep it simple stupid) is a good rule of thumb.  State what you need to tell the public in a simple and uncomplicated way. Use direct sentences and keep your answers short.   Develop one or two talking points and then do not be afraid to repeat them until they become associated as a counter balance to any negative reporting that may occur.

-Use pictures and the alternative (social media) to get your side of the story to the public.  Often a photo can say a million words and you do not have to surrender your right to show photos to the world to the media.  In today's post-media world, anyone in tourism has access to social media and can simply upload photos that help to tell your side of the story.  Email blasts are especially helpful in getting the word out and explaining your organization's viewpoint.  Do not be afraid to take out ads, create newsletters etc.  The important thing is that you control your crisis by taking the leadership position.