Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
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6.4.7. Resolution Phase
As with the resolution phase in public sector crisis management approaches, private enterprises
should take time to review their actions for effectiveness and make any adjustments, consistent
with the resources available to them. It is at this stage that true resilience will be built into the
organisation in that they should by now have created good networks with other tourism
stakeholders locally, nationally and (in the case of larger enterprises) internationally, and in that
they will be well aware of how to respond to changing market trends and match their products to
available market segments.
 If a business does not already have a crisis management plan in place, now is the time
to create one – especially building on recent experience. It is advisable to collaborate
with other local businesses, trade associations or the DMO to work through the stages
of this collectively, and it may be possible to access post-crisis funding from
governments or donor agencies to support the process. This is a good way of creating
strong networks as well as using resources efficiently.4
6.5. Concluding Remarks
The principal tried-and-tested strategies and actions for rebuilding a country or destination’s
tourism image after a crisis have been highlighted in this section. Their efficacy has been proven in
numerous different situations. In particular, a good contingency plan, constantly updated, is vital.
Accurate, timely and responsive information from a reputable source such as the NTO may act as a
counterweight to the sensationalist reporting which can damage domestic and international
tourismmarkets. Another lesson is the vital need for the ongoing representation of tourismwithin
national-level crisis management strategies, as it is a vital and embedded component of both
advanced and emerging economies.
However, recovery efforts will only be effective if the disaster or crisis is a one-off or rare
occurrence. If the underlying cause of the disruptive event remains unresolved, such as with long-
running political and social tensions, little can be done to repair a country’s image and persuade
tourists to return. Simply ignoring the issue and attempting to turn the focus of attention elsewhere
maywork for a time but is unlikely to succeed in the longer term if crises of a similar nature continue
to occur. Diversifying products, appealing to different markets and improving security
arrangements may go some way towards supporting the sector, but if tourists continue to be the
target of terrorist attacks, government travel advisory warnings will remain in place and tourists
themselves will be too nervous to travel to the destination.
4 Guidelines written for the Council of Australian Tour Operators on managing risks and crises in tourism are
useful for industries in the sector – it is available at