Risk & Crisis Management in Tourism Sector:
Recovery from Crisis
in the OIC Member Countries
62
 Removal by tour operators of holidays in affected countries from their brochures and
product listings
 Decisions by airlines to reduce flights to affected destinations
 A decline in overall tourist arrivals and occupancy levels for hotels, tour operators and
airlines
 Loss of jobs and a fall in the economic benefits of tourism, including reduced incomes
and tax revenues
It was noted in Section 2 that international experience in managing crises falls into distinct phases:
1. Pre-crisis planning to prepare for a crisis and mitigate its impacts
2. Response during the event and in its immediate aftermath
3. Response post crisis – short term
4. Response post crisis – medium to long term
A reviewof attempts to resolve crises affecting the tourism industry in OIC countries has found that
the governments and industry of the countries concerned had put in place strategies and actions
which fell into these phases. Specific examples of actions taken by OIC countries are given below.
3.3.1. Pre-crisis Preparedness Planning
Preparing a management plan in advance is vital to ensuring preparedness for a crisis, the steps
for which are outlined in sections 6.3.1. (for the public sector) and 6.4.1. (for the private sector).
Prior to the 2004 tsunami, private enterprises in Penang (Malaysia) had clear crisis management
procedures at the level of each hotel, tour business and airline. In some cases, crisis management
plans are rolled into overall national disaster and risk management strategies, as advocated in
Section 2. For instance, Malaysia put plans in place for coping with major disease epidemics after
an outbreak of an earlier disease (Nipah virus) in 1999 (Khan, 2017).
3.3.2. Response During the Event and in its Immediate Aftermath
After the floods in 2014 which affected areas of Kashmir, social media apps such as Twitter
and Facebook were used to identify and send help to the worst affected places and
communities (Reynolds, 2014). Due to the ephemeral nature of social media content, it is
extremely difficult to find examples of the messages deployed by crisis-hit countries in the
aftermath of an incident. However, a good example of a crisis response came after the fatal
crash of EgyptAir flight 804 from Paris to Cairo in May 2016. Immediately after the crash,
EgyptAir activated its Crisis Center. It posted information on its Facebook page about the
disappearance of the flight less than 2 hours from the moment when communications with
the flight-deck were lost, and it subsequently posted updates on its website
and on social media. Its posts were informative and matter-of-fact and
avoided speculation as to the cause of the crash when this was as yet unknown.