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hetoric
In the late twentieth century, rhetoric is being
reappreciated as the inventive political craft of
discrimination and polemic, not merely as the art
of composition. In tourism as elsewhere, rhetoric is
increasingly found to be that powerful and
pragmatic inducement by which rhetors ± be they
individuals, organisations, professions or movements
± harness the paralinguistic ambiguities of
language to persuade particular audiences.
risk
KEITH HOLLINSHEAD, UK
As tourism is all about fulfilling people's travel
desire, both the industry and tourists try to
minimise the risk involved in visiting a given
destination. In order to do so, providers of
destination facilities must ensure the safety and
security of their guests.
Tourists' invulnerability can be assured if the
entire infrastructure and supporting services
at a destination adhere to high standards of safety.
These include regulation of food quality to
prevent any kind of food poisoning �see foodborne
illness); strict sanitation regulations to
prevent the communication and spread of diseases;
controlling and monitoring the use of hazardous
building materials; the application of explicit
restrictions on potentially dangerous tourist activities;
the introduction of dedicated and carefully
designed facilities for the disabled; the introduction
of safety regulations to transportation facilities;
and the provision of adequate and highly competent
health services. As yet, the level of introduction
and enforcement of such standards varies from
one destination to another. This means that some
destinations are still far from offering tourists a riskfree
environment as far as safety is concerned.
Consequently, tourists still have to seek information
regarding the level of safety of a given destination.
They also need to take various precautions to avoid
potential safety hazards once on-site.
Controlling the security situation at a destination
is also highly important in order to minimise
the perceived and/or the actual risk involved in
tourism. Security situations such as occasional
terrorism aimed directly or indirectly at tourists,
warfare, social unrest and political instability might
all be perceived as high risk as they could endanger
tourists' lives. In such circumstances, they feel
reluctant to visit affected destinations.
The level of perceived risk is related to the
extent of those violent activities; the frequency of
violent activities; the geographical proximity of
such events to destinations; and the duration of
each security event, including the way the media
coverage of such events is featured. Many destinations
that had suffered from safety and/or security
situations have already incorporated new policies,
regulations and enforcement measures to reverse
the emerging risky image. However, it takes
careful planning and aggressive marketing
efforts to convince tourists that the actual risk has
been minimised to a reasonable level.
risk analysis
risk analysis 509
YOEL MANSFELD, ISRAEL
The tourism industry is under increasing pressure
to identify potential threats to life and property in
and around tourism facilities and, through risk
analysis, to determine what can be done to
eliminate or reduce the risk to acceptable levels.
Resorts, for example, may face sociopolitical,
economic and/or physical hazards. Economic
factors, such as shortages of food, transportation,
housing and skilled labour, can have a
devastating effect on tourism operations. Political
factors, such as unstable governments, changes in
government leadership and violence targeted
against hotels or tourists, can pose serious threats.
Employees may be killed or injured, facilities may
be damaged and customers may be frightened
away.
Risk analysis is frequently divided into risk
assessment and risk management processes. The
former involves defining the nature of the risk,
including its probability of occurrence and likely
intensity, and measuring its potential impact on
customers or employees or others. The risk is
usually expressed as a probability of fatality or
property loss. Risk management involves develop