Bounce Back - Pacific Asia Travel Association Thailand Chapter

There is a wide a range of risks to a business which involves the overall context
of staffing. In addition to the example above there are possibilities such as
resignation or retirement of key staff, criminal actions undertaken by staff, errors
in customer service which result in loss of business.
An effective risk audit will take into account the effect of the risk, likelihood
of occurrence and the remedial actions to be taken. In the following table are
common risks which can impact on tourism destinations and businesses.
The core skill of effective risk management is the identification and prioritisation
of those risks which impact on each specific business and destination. Too much
professional time and money can be wasted on preparing for risk which will not
really happen to you. Conversely, it is well worth taking the effort to think outside
the square of obvious risks.
In April 2010 the eruption of the Eyjafajallajokull Volcano in Iceland resulted
in a plume of volcanic ash which was expelled by the volcano. The ash clouds
grounded airlines and closed air space over much of Northern Europe. This event
caught most tourism businesses completely off guard with the sole exception of
airlines ( which had a contingency plan developed by the ICAO (International Civil
Aviation Organisation).
As a result, hotels had no contingeny plan for dealing with excess guests or
mass cancellations, land transport had problems coping with extra demand
and insurance companies had conflicting approaches to assisting stranded
passengers.
Having identified the most likely risks an audit should include the measures which
will be taken to deal with the event, and business should ensure that whenever
possible they have insurance coverage which will financially protect the business
should that risk eventuate.
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