Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
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6.4.2. Prodromal Phase: Warning Signs of the Crisis
Businesses should start tomove their plan into the operational phase once the signs of a crisis start
to appear. In the past this was not always possible because sudden, major events were usually
unexpected. However, since the Millennium the world has become somewhat habituated to
unforeseen major catastrophes such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami and to a host of more minor ones, and nowadays it is imperative for businesses to be
prepared for events of a similar magnitude.
From the events studied for this report, it is clear that in most cases there are warning signs of an
impending crisis situation (for example financial or political crises such as the Global Economic
Crisis of 2008-9, the current economic crisis in South Africa, and the presidential challenge in The
Gambia in 2016-17) or at least sufficient precedents for the industry to be able to plan ahead (for
example the suicide bombings in London in 2007, Paris in 2015, Brussels in 2016 and Manchester
in 2017, and the terrorist lorry and van attacks in Nice in 2016 and Stockholm, London and
Barcelona in 2017).
6.4.3. Emergency Phase: Protective Actions
As soon as a crisis begins to occur, managers or other people in authority need to assess whether
and to what extent their business or destination is likely to be affected. This will depend to some
extent on the type of business and its geographical proximity to the location of the incident. The
three key stages of action during this phase are as follows:
 The first priority is to ensure the safety of any customers on-site or currently the
responsibility of the business, for example guests in a hotel damaged by flooding,
participants in a tour group stranded or unable to return to their hotel, or visitors caught
up in a political crisis whose trip may no longer be viable. The needs of non-essential or
vulnerable staff members (including older people and pregnant women) should also be
taken into consideration; or staff may wish to return to their families to take care of
them.
 Customers must be transferred as quickly as possible to a place of safety or even
evacuated to their home country. In the meantime, they will appreciate being kept fully
informed of the situation. It was noticeable that during the major failure of IT systems
which affected British Airways in May 2017, resulting in flight cancellations, delays and
lost luggage for around 75,000 passengers, a principal complaint was that there were
no announcements and no staff on hand to advise people what was happening (The
Guardian, 2017). Half a billion pounds were wiped off the company’s share price in the
aftermath of the crisis, and it is estimated that the incident will eventually cost BA
around £150 million in compensation claims and lost business.