Tourism Crisis Management: A Guide to Preparing, Executing & Finding Positives

 

Crisis Management: Preparation, Execution and Perseverance Through Times of Challenge

 

Let’s face it. As in almost every other aspect of life, your organization will likely experience a crisis – probably more than once, with varying degrees of severity. It’s not so much a question of if, but when. The tourism industry is all about hospitality, so you’ll need to be ready to greet tough times with a positive outlook and an ironclad tourism crisis management plan.

Now for the good news. If you embrace that reality rather than dread it, there are always silver linings to be found in a properly mitigated crisis. After all, such challenging times present a unique chance to forge stronger connections with partners, stakeholders, media members and others. This is a golden opportunity to showcase your brand mission, while demonstrating the ability to remain calm and serve as a valuable resource.

 

Facing a Tourism Crisis? Let’s Talk About Your Voice

 

When a crisis occurs, what you say and when you say it are of equal importance. Part of your plan involves knowing just the right time to speak or hold back. First impressions certainly apply here, and it’s critical that you are clear and strong in your response right from the start. You don’t want to exacerbate a situation by withholding information and then having to add more details after the fact. This can give the outward appearance of uncertainty – or worse, untrustworthiness. Likewise, you don’t want to overshare only to find yourself needing to walk back certain statements and details. Sorting through muddled messages and clarifying misinformation will only add fuel to the fire, causing additional harm in an already damaging situation.

Gossip flourishes in an info vacuum. Crisis is your opportunity to be the credible, trusted, timely voice of information. Your preparation begins with gaining a categorical knowledge of the varying types of crises that are most pertinent to your role within the tourism industry, as well as how to be ready with a strategic response. This speaks to pretty much any event that necessitates a strategic communications plan. It could be something as serious as a natural disaster, like a hurricane, flood, drought, or wildfire. It may be tied to environmental incidents, sensitive data breaches, or large-scale lawsuits. The crisis could also involve an unpopular leadership change in an organization, or legislative and governmental issues.

Map out the areas where your organization is most susceptible and build a strategy around each. Risk assessment ahead of a crisis gives you a more thorough understanding of the landscape and how you might navigate it with greater confidence.

 

Not So Quiet Before the Storm

 

How can you be ready before you even know what might happen? It starts with establishing your dedicated crisis team, including – most importantly – the person who will serve as your official spokesperson whenever the time comes to step forward. Identify the audiences your team will be addressing. Carefully determine all the key stakeholders who may have a rooted interest in your response – from employees and board of directors to members of the media, government, and general public – and plan how you will communicate with each of them. Messaging is never one-size-fits-all. A cookie-cutter response won’t address the unique needs and questions of every audience, and such an approach runs the high risk of coming across as tone-deaf or disengaged. Your messaging needs to be thoughtfully crafted with the specific context of each audience in mind. Every word matters.

Once a response is developed, it should be thoroughly reviewed. The last thing you want when it’s time to officially respond is messaging that’s incongruent or makes your organization appear lacking in unity during a high-stakes situation. Determine clear-cut approval chains to ensure everything is fully vetted and legally sound. Carefully maintain and update these chains as circumstances dictate. This detailed process will help ensure your entire team is on board and on the same page.

Just as high-level sports or military teams prep in advance for any conceivable scenario, your team should undergo crisis-management training that prepares everyone to respond with a high degree of proficiency. Build the team’s crisis communication through analysis of variables and repetition of response – even using real-life simulations – until your process is locked into muscle memory. When a crisis eventually arises, it should feel in some ways as if you’ve already experienced it, making your reaction all the more natural.

OK – all that sounds great in theory, but what does it actually entail? There are numerous elements that play into your organization’s preparation. Defining critical policies and safeguards allows you to head trouble off at the pass if not avoid it altogether. Building and enhancing your brand equity in advance will also help make it more bulletproof when times of crisis arise, as stakeholders will gain a deeper sense of who you are as an organization, thereby feeling more fully invested in your values when it matters most.

Media relations are key, as growing stronger contacts and connections will open pathways for sharing your story when communication becomes critical. Know who you’ll need to contact to reach each audience. Delivering the right message to the right audience at the right time is essential. It is especially important for tourism organizations to identify lead authorities and direct the media to them. Even if you aren’t the “lead” voice, you still need to decide if you should react and communicate. Plan social media posts that direct toward the lead authority, helping anyone with questions find the most qualified source for information.

However, even in situations when inquiries are mostly being directed to an authority outside your organization, you’ll need to be prepared for associated impact questions from the media. For example, if your local airport is experiencing a shut-down or mass delays, media questions will be directed to sources like that airport’s communications team or the FAA. But this doesn’t preclude the media from asking a tourism organization for reaction insight on how the incident affects visitors, perceptions, etc.

Establish consistent monitoring protocols for traditional and social media to ensure you’re always up to speed on how the crisis is either accelerating or slowing down. Messaging may not necessarily be coming from traditional media. Review all your organization’s marketing and digital outlets, from paid media and speaking engagements to social media posts and website content.

Social media is a quick accelerator, with any number of citizen journalists posting video and commentary, so you’ll need to be prepared in advance for all the most likely scenarios. Conduct a thorough review of all current social media channels, as one-way or two-way communication will dictate what type of response preparation is needed.

 

Tourism PR 101: Stay In Your Lane

 

Once your organization is in crisis mode, your goal is to mitigate any damage without doing additional harm. This is where all your preparation comes into play. Your team should be open and approachable with the media, remaining upfront and honest about what you do and don’t know. Keep statements short and simple, and provide only 100% vetted, fact-based responses. If you don’t yet have clear, factual answers, communicate that you are working to find them and will report them once you do. Never over-speak or over-promise.

Your organization’s voice needs to remain consistent across all channels. Integrate all your PR, social media, and website strategy and messaging. Consider pausing all regular social media posts and focus solely on resolving the situation at hand. Continue to monitor all channels for consistency and external comments that may need addressing.

When it comes to PR, there are many ways to consider communicating both during and after the crisis. There is, of course, the traditional media release/advisory. However, submitting letters to the editor or op-eds for publication are alternative ways to share details with an expert opinion surrounding them.

You can also share public statements from your lead authorities, provide video and photo advisories, or provide an exclusive interview or live video that sheds more light on the unfolding situation. Hosting a news conference allows you to speak directly to the issues at hand and answer questions all at once. Scheduling editorial board meetings allows you to go right to those who are reporting and shaping the ongoing story. And organizing a media tour can help you control the narrative by bringing reporters to any site location in question.

 

Regroup and Move Forward

 

Once the crisis has mostly subsided, it's time to gather your team and any lead authorities to conduct a post-mortem of the situation. Assess brand damage the organization may have incurred and begin to review future marketing plans that can help repair your image. What are the main takeaways and lessons to be learned? How can the experience help you become better? Once you have your feet back under you, you’ll know when the time is right to push out fresh content and begin your next chapter. Moments of crisis are part of the natural flow of the tourism industry, but if you've done your work beforehand you’ll be ready to handle them well and even come out the other side stronger than before.