Crisis Management and Tourism

Summary Undoubtedly, the tourism industry is one of the most susceptible and vulnerable industries to crises. Recent major events that had devastating impacts on the industry ranges from natural disasters to epidemics, and from mismanagement to terrorist attacks. These kinds of episodes are not confined to any geographical region, as crises respect no political or cultural boundaries. Two major recent events illustrate this point: the BSE crisis in the UK in the 1990s, which was followed by the foot and mouth disease in 2000 and 2001, crippled the industry in several regions of England. Most recently, the events of September 11th in New York and Washington changed the way the industry operates forever. Crises are not new to the tourism industry. However, it has been observed that tourism management capability and ability to deal with complex and critical situations are limited. This paper discusses the concept of crisis management and its relevance to tourism. It presents an overview of the general trends in tourism crises events of the last two decades, assesses the impacts of major man-made crises on the industry, and argues for the importance of crisis management in tourism management. The paper also discusses the complex issue of crisis definition and its implications for organizations, and provides an operational definition of crisis management. Critical issues in crisis management, such as crisis anatomy, crisis incubation, risk perception in tourism and destination image, are discussed. Finally, the paper explores and analyses, in the context of crisis anatomy, the public sector handling of a major resort pollution crisis in Southern Brazil.