Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
53
travellers - can be reached through online bookings and social media, which facilitate interaction
with visitors and make it easier for them to learn about and visit the destination.
Countries can develop product development and diversification strategies to remove tourists from
areas of political unrest. This strategy has been successful in Egypt, where isolated resorts and
enclave cities have been developed along the Red Sea, while in Haiti the isolated peninsular resort
of Labadee is fenced, heavily guarded, and completely closed off to locals except for the resort
personnel. It is accessible only from cruise ships and guests are not allowed to move outside the
resort because of the politically unstable Haitian cities (World Economic Forum, 2015). Avraham
and Ketter (2017) report that South Korea decided to target a new market segment and highlight
different products in 2010 after a prolonged period of tension with North Korea was deterring
traditional markets. It therefore targeted theMalaysianmarket withmedical tourismand shopping,
including keeping shopping malls open on a 24-hour basis.
Similarly, it will be seen in the Sri Lanka case study in Section 5.4 that the country diversified its
product by opening up newareas for tourismand creatingmore niche products focusing on natural,
wellness and spiritual assets: for instance visits to national parks to view wildlife, hiking and
trekking, spa retreats, and a Ramayana trail highlighting links with Asian mythology.
Encouraging domestic tourism in times of economic downturn and during the aftermath of a crisis
can also be an important means of filling the void left by international tourists. Although this does
not help to generate the important benefit of increasing foreign exchange earnings for the country,
it can at least keep tourism businesses operating. The chief benefit of this strategy is that domestic
tourists are more likely to be fully aware of the real situation than those outside the country. This
approach can also work during times of longer-lasting crisis. For instance, during the global
economic crisis of 2008-9, many destinations focussed their marketing and promotional efforts on
domestic tourism to encourage people to take ‘staycations’ in their home country. Countries
including China, Brazil and Spain saw domestic tourism to some extent replace the fall in
international tourism (UNWTO, 2011). Having said that, domestic tourists in large countries such
as India or China are not necessarily any more aware of the realities of a situation than overseas
tourists, especially if media reporting exaggerates the extent and impact of the issue (as discussed
in Section 1).
2.4. Crisis Communications
As with other aspects of crisis planning, the principles of a crisis communication plan must be
established in advance of a crisis, in particular the human and financial resources of the crisis
communications team. The key to good crisis communications is identifying the risks and possible
crises that could occur and developing specific plans for each event. The more detailed the pre-
event preparation and planning, the more likely it is that the outputs will be effective.
Whatever the crisis, the optimal response is to provide timely information that is accurate, credible
and transparent, enabling stakeholders to act on it and prospective visitors to make informed
decisions and modify their travel arrangements if necessary. One of the main complaints in the
aftermath of a mishandled crisis is the lack of information from the authorities, and a careful