Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
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 The Crisis HQ identified in the Pre-crisis phase should be readied and, if the crisis is clearly
looming, additional staff should be deployed and briefed on what actions to take and
messages to present.
6.3.3. Emergency Phase: Protective Actions
This phase represents the ‘Disturbance event’ (or series of events) which destabilises existing
systems. The effectiveness of the immediate response to crisiswill depend onmeasures put in place
during the pre-crisis and prodromal stages. Once a crisis has occurred and a full emergency
situation has developed, the following steps must be taken:
 The top priority is the safety and welfare of all tourists, sector employees and residents
in the affected destination. This should be ensured by providing medical and food
assistance during or immediately after a natural disaster or other crisis to cope with any
injuries and meet the subsistence needs of people affected.
 Emergency evacuation procedures should be put in place if necessary to take people to
a place of safety (either in-country or back to their home countries). The lead
government agency should work closely with airlines, inbound tour operators and
ground agents on this.
 The Crisis HQ should become operational, with key announcements fronted by a
designated spokesperson and hotlines staffed by fully briefed personnel. Messages must
truthful. The Crisis HQ / call centre may need to answer enquiries from the media, tour
operators and relatives of visitors caught up in the crisis. As explained above, the Nepal
TourismBoard posted details of emergency phone numbers on its Facebook page on the
day after the major earthquake in 2015, which demonstrated that they were dealing
proactively with the situation.
 The lead government agency should inform tourism businesses through their pre-
prepared email / phone number listings of the ‘hotline’ to which enquiries by the media
and general public should be directed.
 As soon as the safety of visitors and residents has been assured, the government should
carry out an assessment of the most urgent infrastructural repairs needed to restore
communications and transportation (by land/sea and electronically).
6.3.4. Intermediate Recovery Phase
Once people’s safety has been assured, the primary essential actions during this phase are as
follows:
 Emergency infrastructural repairs identified in the previous phase should be carried
out.
 The lead government agency should work closely with businesses in the affected area
to ascertain the extent of the physical damage.
 Depending on this assessment, the public and private sector should cooperate closely to
ensure that the messages conveyed and actions taken are consistent with each other