Tourism Risk Management - Sustainable Tourism Online

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Australian and international tourism industry (including APEC, PATA and UNWTO)
o domestic and international travelling public
• ensure coordinated policy responses and remedies across governments; and
• coordinate and disseminate information relating to impacts of incidents on the tourism
industry.
Developed as an ‘all hazards’ plan, the National Tourism Incident Response Plan will be
implemented to respond to incidents including terrorism or war, disease outbreaks, natural disasters
and other events that may impact negatively on the Australian tourism industry. It contains generic
arrangements for response as specific requirements will vary, depending on the nature and scope of
an event. Importantly, though, it does suggest that each jurisdiction prepare its own plan, consistent
with the national arrangements. The plan is authorized by the Tourism Ministers Council, which
includes National, State and Territory Tourism Ministers.
Business Continuity Planning Guide for a Human Influenza Pandemic
A further support to the tourism industry by the Australian Government is the recently released
business continuity guide and small business kit designed to provide practical information and
planning tools to assist businesses, including tourism operators, in their preparations for a potential
human influenza pandemic. The guide, Being Prepared for a Human Influenza Pandemic – A
Business Continuity Guide for Australian Businesses, and the kit, A Kit for Small Businesses, were
prepared by the Australian Government in consultation with industry associations.
The guide encourages businesses to rethink their existing contingency strategies to cope with these
types of pandemics and is designed to:
• give an overview of the current situation in regards to avian and pandemic influenza and the
role of the Government;
• allow for consideration of potential impacts of a pandemic on businesses in Australia; and
• provide business continuity planning steps to minimize impact of a pandemic, protect staff and
manage customers and stakeholders.
The kit is a comprehensive planning tool for businesses and provides a detailed overview of the 10
business continuity planning steps for dealing with a pandemic, as well as additional information
resources for business preparedness.
Both can be downloaded from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources website at
www.industry.gov.au/pandemicbusinesscontinuity.
PATA and Project Phoenix
It struck suddenly, and with devastating consequences for the Asia-Pacific region: SARS - Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome - took the lives of more than 900 people. By the time medical
authorities had the disease in check, SARS had also taken a heavy toll on regional economies,
particularly in the travel and tourism sector. As fear of travel grew disproportionately to the actual
risk, billions of dollars and thousands of livelihoods were lost as global consumers chose not to
travel, not only to SARS affected destinations but to countries throughout the region.
Following on from the terror attacks in Bali and the Iraq conflict, the SARS outbreak was the worst
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