Tourism Risk Management - Sustainable Tourism Online

A) Image building communications
• Be proactive in communications
Promote what you are doing to restore tourism to normalcy. Brief journalists on your recovery plans
and how long it will take for them to have effect. Provide plentiful information, including copies of
speeches, editorial pieces, maps and photos. Recovery from a crisis requires extra budgetary and
human resources allocated to communication.
• Look for positive news
Gear news items to reflect the normalcy of tourism activity, for example, the arrival of specialized tour
groups or the opening of new attractions. The goal is to demonstrate ‘business as usual’ in your
destination. Egypt has effectively promoted the discovery or reopening of archaeological sites as part
of its recovery strategy. Promote news not directly related to tourism, such as cultural events,
scientific discoveries, sporting triumphs, film shoots and shopping trends.
• Increase familiarization trips for journalists
Invite the press back to show them what has been achieved. Target the theme of the familiarization
trip to address your particular image problem and make sure it includes plenty of contact between
journalists and local residents. Concentrate on positive television coverage to counteract the harmful
effect of TV images of the crisis in the minds of potential visitors. The great thing about familiarization
trips is that they allow plenty of time to establish relationships with individual journalists who may then
be motivated to take a special interest in your country for years to come.
• Remember anniversaries
An area which has suffered a major crisis will be revisited by the media on key anniversaries - 100
days, six months, one year, two years, and ten years. These dates offer a good opportunity to
communicate, so be prepared with materials and stories that reflect the recovery of the destination.
• Anticipate legal actions
People affected by international incidents will lobby for investigations, make complaints and pursue
lawsuits. If the media reports something inaccurate about you, write a letter to the editor to correct
the matter. If someone takes you to court, the inaccurate media report could be produced as
evidence and it does no good to claim it was not true. You will need evidence that you corrected the
report at the time.
• Create your own news outlet on the destination website
Provide an alternative to mass media news sources on your own website. Make the website as
newsy as possible, taking advantage of its unlimited space to provide in-depth information. To
demonstrate that your website is providing up-to-date information it needs to include the day’s date in
a prominent place. It should also be updated daily with positive stories that demonstrate a return to
normalcy.
80 Tourism Risk Management – An Authoritative Guide to Managing Crises in Tourism