In this Newsletter
CRISIS MANAGEMENT FOR TOURISM DESTINATIONS

Five years ago, as Hurricane Katrina wreaked destruction on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, our 2005 fall newsletter focused on destination crisis management and asked this question: “Destructive Katrina: Is this a harbinger of turbulent tourism times to come?”

Today, many would say yes-- with the alarming Gulf Oil Disaster that looms as a major deterrent to the social and economic well being of so many. Here are some lessons learned for Crisis Management Planning today.

It seems like yesterday that our hearts first went out to the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina wreaked destruction, took untold lives and cast a pall of uncertainty over this entire region.

Just short years ago, people there were being stretched to their limits as they prepared a recovery scenario—one requiring monumental long-term reconstruction efforts and billions of dollars.

Clearly, our industry of tourism was at the epicenter of much of the social and economic losses there, with so many local jobs generated and sustained by tourism spending.

I distinctly remember White House economic advisors then publicly characterizing Katrina's long-term impacts "as modest". And a national trade article then woefully understated the severity to the tourism industry with this casual statement: "Hurricane Katrina's impact on the travel business is still being assessed..  And may have implications for future tourism in the Gulf Coast".

Contrast this scenario with today’s horrific oil disaster in the Gulf—the recent inaccurate forecasts of the daily spill—and the slow, steady pervasive damage being caused by the ever- spreading destruction that impacts the economy and livelihood of a growing resident population of the region. 

Five years ago, we asked this same burning question:

Where, throughout North America, will we not be adversely impacted as a result of this horrific disaster? And what can we do about it?

A lesson learned short years ago was that as television news brought us harrowing visual images of the destruction from Hurricane Katrina, another parallel story was also unfolding.

It included the energy industry's response with abruptly falling stocks, a corresponding spike in gas prices to more than three dollars a gallon, and the business forecast for rising heating oil that later affected many throughout the country.

Indeed, this was not a temporary situation and those conditions were exacerbated for years to come. Now they have been overshadowed by the growing negative impacts of today’s Gulf oil crisis.

What, then, does the future hold for tourism and the destinations affected?

Without the benefit of a crystal ball, we are left with these understandings:

Tourism leaders can have positive impacts in clarifying crisis needs, addressing economic development challenges, building consensus for local, state and regional responses, marshalling financial resources for marketing and so many other requirements.

Here are several suggested strategic approaches for your current crisis management planning.

First, compare your strategic planning model to some current successful ones operating today.

Internet search engines can quickly lead you to major crisis planning efforts that are now underway. And there are some very useful Crisis Management Templates also posted on the web for your considered usage.

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What's important now is not the format of your plan, but what you want to decide to include in it and the constituents you bring to the table for ongoing planning.

From a tactical perspective:

Stay close to your customer through secondary local, national and regional research—with a renewed effort to monitor consumer attitudes—and behavior.

What will the traveler do in the months to come? How will these issues affect their travel decisions and patterns?

The US Travel Association and your state tourism office should be excellent resources for your future planning. Establish a liaison to communication with them on an ongoing basis.

Make your own ongoing assessment, too, with guidance from local industry partners, Visitor centers, hotel reservation services and regional AAA offices who can provide anecdotal, directional information for tracking. But more importantly, you should establish a plan to give you projectable data. Internet based customer surveys, for example, are relatively inexpensive and will tell you a lot.

Look at the worst-case scenarios and develop a planned response. Are consumer attitudes accurate, or is the perception fuelling even greater fear and potential lost business? That happened during the energy shortage of the 70s that adversely impacted tourism, with long gas station lines, allocation systems and even unavailability of gas that affected losses of tourism visitation, resulting expenditures and local jobs.

Don't go it alone—Share your ideas and concerns with your principal stakeholders and make them part of your planning process. And don't stop there; contact your regional and state tourism office partners and make sure they're addressing the issues, too—because if there are travel downturns, it certainly won't be just a local, state or regional issue.

THE "WHAT IF" APPROACH

After assessing the potential impacts from all kinds of scenarios that could be imposed on you by a variety of negative issues, ask yourself as many "what if" questions as your team can envision.

For example, what would be the impacts if people decided to stay closer to home, traveling just within a day's drive. Would that positively or negatively affect your destination?

What if there were serious misperceptions about the negative impacts affecting your area that were keeping people away? Could you convincingly advise them?And if so, what resources can you allocate for marketing?

GATHER RESOURCES

As you continue this "What if" approach, be mindful of the communications resources that need to be apart of your plan—including staff, other community support agencies and an emergency set-aside budget for just such events.

STAY CURRENT

Another important consideration is to keep this plan current and not on a shelf somewhere in your offices.

IN SUMMARY

These uncertain times call for diligence, open dialogue and discovery.

Good luck in the months ahead, as we hope for an optimistic future—particularly for our friends in the Gulf Coast, as well as other regional areas now adversely affected.

Five years ago, we concluded that it was “time for us to pragmatically prepare our communities for most travel market impact eventualities yet unseen”. Indeed, it’s never too soon.

Need a strategic plan tailored to your DMO's specific requirements?
contact Marshall Murdaugh at:
901-336-9170

You can now access previous newsletters on a variety of marketing topics by visiting:
WWW.MMTOURISMMARKETING.COM