Turning Information into Action

Dr. Peter Tarlow -- While there is little doubt that the best crisis recovery-plan, is to do everything possible to avoid the crisis, at times crises occur despite our best efforts. The on-going global financial crisis is one that may have a wide impact on tourism. Also at times, what appears to be nothing more than a minor problem may become a major crisis for reasons that were impossible to predict.

"TOURISM TIDBITS" FROM TOURISM & MORE, INC.
The goal of "Tourism Tidbits" is to provide travel professionals with a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas. With proper referencing, we invite you to quote or reproduce "Tourism Tidbits" and to pass it along to a friend.
"Tourism Tidbits" is published monthly in English and Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish. Mtra. Patricia Koalska of Mexico does the Spanish translation, Marcus Vinicius Campos of Brazil provides the Portuguese translation, and Dr. Turgut Var provides the Turkish translation.
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TOURISM & MORE'S "TOURISM TIDBITS" for November 2008
Post Crisis Marketing
While there is little doubt that the best crisis recovery-plan, is to do everything possible to avoid the crisis, at times crises occur despite our best efforts. The on-going global financial crisis is one that may have a wide impact on tourism. Also at times, what appears to be nothing more than a minor problem may become a major crisis for reasons that were impossible to predict. Once the crisis has occurred crisis denial is no longer an option, instead a coherent and strategic marketing plan must be developed to deal with the crisis and to resolve it. Despite the fact that tourism crises come in multiple forms, from a natural disaster to a terrorism attack, from a well publicized missing person to a pandemic or highly publicized illness, there are a number of basic principles that are essential no matter what the tourism crisis may be. Historically however, after each crisis those components of the tourism industry that have survived the crisis have found ways to recover. Not all crises are alike, but most tourism people have a fairly good idea if the crisis will be a man-made one (such as crimes, kidnappings, assaults or terrorism) or a natural disaster such as earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. Prepare for those crises that are most likely to occur and then utilize the crisis management plan, should there be another form of crisis.
This month's "Tourism Tidbits" looks beyond the multiple crises to the recovery stage. While each crisis has its own uniqueness, there are general principles that apply to all tourism crises recovery plans. Here are a few ideas for your consideration. To help you prepare for a tourism crisis, Tourism Tidbits offers the following ideas and thoughts
-Have a pre-crisis set of plans. No matter what the crisis may be develop a list of potential marketing strategies. Take the time to read books such as Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by E. Avraham and E. Ketter or Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis by David Beirman. Have an emergency crisis committee ready so that it can swing into action as soon as possible. This latter point is essential as the longer you wait to implement a crisis recovery plan, the worse the crisis may become.

-Have a list of potential crisis that may occur in your region. Never assume that a crisis will not touch you. Perhaps the most important part of a crisis recovery plan is to have one in place prior to a crisis. While we can never predict the exact nature of a crisis before it occurs, flexible plans allow for a recovery starting point. The worst scenario is to realize that one is in the midst of a crisis and that there are no plans to deal with it.

_Remember that the further one is from the crisis the worse it appears. No one has to visit your community and once the media begins to report that there is a crisis, visitors may quickly panic and begin to cancel trips to your locale. Often it is the media that define a crisis as a crisis. Have a plan in place so that correct information can be given to the media as quickly as possible.

-In times of crisis, look forward to what can be not backward to what was. Crises are no time to play the blame-game. At a later date there may be time to criticize, but during and after a crisis focus on what needs to be done and who will do it. The goal is recovery.
-Develop a working relationship with the media. Crisis go from small crises to large ones, when the media discovers that your agency's spokesman has not been truthful. Be truthful with the media, if you do not have the answer either explain why not or tell them when you will have it. Nothing destroys credibility and thus provokes suspicions and a greater crisis then being caught in an "untruth."
-Never base your post-crisis recovery plan on one single course of action. The best recovery programs take into account a series of coordinated steps all working together. Never depend on only one remedy to bring you toward recovery. Instead coordinate your advertising and marketing campaign with your incentive program and with an improvement in service.
-Get the word out that your community is not closed for business. After a crisis it is essential that the message be sent that your tourism community is alive and well. Encourage people to come by creative advertising, good service and incentives. The key here is not to worry about the size of a discount but rather to get the flow of people back to your community.
-Go after the people who have emotional ties to your community and encourage them to visit you in your community's time of need. Make a visit to your community in the post-crisis phase an act of community, state, or national loyalty. Let people know how much you appreciate their business, give away special souvenirs and honors to those who come.
-Emphasize the need for tourism employees to maintain both dignity and good service. The last thing a person on vacation wants to hear is how bad business is. Instead, emphasize the positive. You are pleased that the visitor has come to your community and that you want to make the trip as enjoyable as possible. After a crisis now frown but smile!
-Be creative in developing programs that encourage the local population to enjoy its community. Immediately after a crisis, it is essential to shore up the economic foundation of the local tourism industry. For example, restaurants that had depended on tourism income may find themselves in a desperate situation. To help these people over the crisis' hump, develop creative programs that will encourage the local population to enjoy its hometown. For example, in the case of local restaurants, develop a dine-around program or a "be a tourist in one's own backyard" program.
-Do not just throw money at a crisis. Often people deal with crises simply by spending money especially on equipment. Good equipment has its role, but equipment without the human touch will only lead to another crisis. Never forget that people solve crises and not machines.
-According to Avraham and Ketter there are 6 key strategies to get your post crisis message across in the media. These are: (1) you can ignore the crisis and hope that it will simply disappear or dissipate, (2) develop some moderate changes that will be covered by the local media, (3) Create some spotlight events that will show people that the crisis is less severe than mentioned in the media, (4) assuming that you have overcome the crisis or are in the process of overcoming it, bring in major opinion leaders to see the real situation. These should be people who nodules of communication, that is that once they start taking others will listen, (5) emphasize the stereotypical places regarding your locate, such as its beaches or historical points, and (6) give yourself a remake, emphasize something new or never before associated with your locale.
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Part II. Commentary
There is no doubt that the world economic crisis is now impacting tourism and travel. Tourism Tidbits invites you to share ideas as to how, the tourism industry can confront this crisis. Please submit any ideas or articles to tourism@bihs.net They will then be published in the next few following months

The following is a proposal from one of Tourism & More's Professional Associates, Dr. David Berman from Australia. Dr. Berman writes this article for purposes of stimulating discussion and creative idea development

"A Strategic Approach for the Global Tourism Industry to Overcome the
Global Economic Crisis: One Suggested 10-Point Plan for Tourism Recovery."
By Dr David Beirman, A member of the Tourism & More Team

The Global economic crisis at present finds tourism vulnerable and groping for answers. Yet as an industry the global tourism industry has demonstrated an increasing capacity to overcome crisis events. It's a positive move that the UN World Tourism Organization is looking at developing a confidence-boosting plan.

At the heart of this particular crisis is the concern of all tourism industry professionals that because tourism is widely perceived as a predominantly discretionary expense people will stop spending money on tourism in an uncertain economic environment. There is also a concern that people will spend less on tourism in during uncertain times.

The restoration of confidence and preparedness to maintain the tourism business must begin at the perceptual and psychological level:

1.A campaign involving all the tourism industry and media partners to enhance the concept that travel and tourism is an essential part of maintaining our well being , no less than food shelter and education. Tourism and leisure should be depicted as a better investment in our well being that stocks and shares. Tourism professionals must work to make the media a major partner in talking up tourism as was the case during PATA's 2003 Project Pheonix. the benchmark campaign to restore tourism in the Asia Pacific region after SARS.. To date the media are actively spreading gloom, doom and panic. Tourism can be depicted as a positive investment because unlike stocks, shares and superannuation you can see, feel and experience what you get for your money. The industry should seek sponsorship from businesses such as Visa and Mastercard that benefit so greatly form the tourism dollar.

2.There must be focus on value tourism product. It should be axiomatic that high priced indulgent tourism and hospitality product will experience a fall in demand so travelers will need to be convinced of value and security in tourism product.

3.Destinations, hoteliers, airlines, Cruise operators, land transport providers tour operators and attractions all need, to create in concert incentives for people to travel and NOW. Where possible rather than offer economically unsustainable discounts, attractive vale added deals are the way to go and sir fares combined with add on land product will offer perceived value for money.

4.All businesses must focus on stressing value for their customers. This means they will have to trim any excess fat in their operating costs so they can maintain competitiveness. Rather than just fire staff some smart deployment of staff with improved selling and marketing training may be a better solution that irreversible sackings. Negotiations between principles and buyers of bulk tourism product should be considerate of fluctuating exchange rates.

5.Tourism should have a solidarity message which implies that tourism maintains jobs and the viability of communities all over the world. Opting out of tourism actually would worsen the economic outlook of the world. Travel keeps the world ticking.

6.On a global level all the major organizations that work for the industry should and must work in concert. There is no time for egos and petty rivalries in a situation in which our entire industry faces a common global threat. The leadership of hotels, travel agents, wholesalers, airlines, national tourist offices, cruise operators, land transport providers need to work together. WTTC. UNWTO, PATA, IHRA, IATA , UFTA and other worldwide industry bodies need to establish a summit and quickly.

7.Governments all over the world have been bailing out banks and the some of the irresponsible

8.financial institutions which were responsible for the economic mess we managed to get into. Governments can greatly help the tourism industry in their own countries and globally by reducing a range of dubious taxes that have contributed to increasing the cost of international air travel. This is a primary goal. Think through how your local state, provincial, or national GOVERNMENT CAN BE AN INTEGRAL PARTNER IN RESTORING THE TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY AS THEY ARE IN OTHER SECTORS OF THE ECONOMY.

9.Consider if you should lobby your governments to contribute to a global fund administered by the UN WTO in consultation with other major global tourism organization that would in concert with the media promote tourism globally.

10.Every web site of tourism associations and individual tourism businesses needs to talk up tourism.

11.An education campaign pitched at travel agents and all front-line travel professionals needs to be developed so that all industry professionals are able to talk up tourism and hospitality to their customers. The involvement of the training and education sectors is vital to both train and provide ongoing performance monitoring and market research at this critical juncture.

12.In each country of region celebrities should be solicited to talk up domestic or international tourism. We need to make people understand that globally tourism represents 8% of GDP and if tourism collapses the unemployment lines will grow longer. On a positive note travel and tourism is good for the economy and there is a key link between tourism and poverty alleviation. At every stage of this campaign the industry must maintain its commitments for a sustainable economy, society and environment all of which depend on tourism being maintained.
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What topics would you like to see discussed in Tourism Tidbits?
Please send us a list of topics of interest to you and we will do our best to dedicate future issues of Tourism Tidbits to your needs/desires.

TOURISM AND MORE'S WIDE RANGE OF SPEECHES AND TRAINING SEMINARS

For a complete listing of topics and information, please check our web page http://www.tourismandmore.com/contact or e-mail us at mailto:tourism@bihs.net.
Please note our all-new special course: Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism.
Here is a partial list of some of our other most popular topics. All seminars and speeches can be presented in English or Spanish.
Two Brand New Lectures concerning the World's Economic Crisis:

1) Smoothing out rocky economic roads: What tourism needs to do stay in front of these economically challenging times!

2) Surviving Economically Challenging Times: Best Practice from Far and Wide.

Additionally:
3) Our trained staff of professionals are ready to meet with your board and you to discuss specific strategic planning in this most difficult of times.

Please contact us at tourism@bihs.net for more information regarding costs and available dates.

Also New!!!! How to tourism communities need to work to prevent and recover from natural disasters.

Other lectures include:
-Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism.

-Training Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing (TOPs), how it works and why it is essential for a viable tourism industry.

-Getting On Board: Helping Your Police and Other City Employees to be Part of the Tourism Industry.

-Marketing to the Baby-boom Generation, Generation X and beyond.

-New Trends in Tourism Marketing and International Tourism.

-When the Market is Tight and the Economy Is Slow: New Ideas in Marketing.

-Developing a Successful Agricultural and Rural Tourism Industry.

-Something from Nothing: The Art of Creating New Attractions.

-Tourism Ethics: Linking the Wisdom of Moses to Your Tourism Product.

-Understanding Tourism Statistics: When is a fact a fact and when is it not? How to present data to the media.
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TOURISM ON-LINE/EDUCATION
TOURISM SECURITY. The George Washington University's Tourism Destination Management and Marketing Certificate Program announces the launch of "Safety and Security for Tourism Destinations: Achieving a Safe and Secure Tourism Environment". This is a course designed to help tourism professionals understand the importance of safety and security within a destination, as well as provide them with the "tools" needed to create a secure environment for both visitors and residents.

World-renowned travel safety and security expert, Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, has developed this course by drawing on his wealth of experience and the growing number of publications in this area. The course is available worldwide via Internet-based distance learning. For more information please email mailto:dmpdl@gwu.edu.
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Seeking Leader?

Travel, Event Planning and Management Professional with broad skills in managing people, projects and organizations is looking for new opportunities in Palm Beach, Fl area. If you are looking for inspirational and fun leader with diverse travel industry background (from airlines to tour operators to event planning) who is practical and able to simplify and lead teams to great results contact Lena Hartikainen at lenahartikainen@gmail.com
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BOOKS ON TOURISM

1) Event Risk Management and Safety (ISBN 0-471-40168-4) by Peter E. Tarlow, published by John Wiley & Sons. Presenting theory and practical applications. To purchase this book, visit http://www.wiley.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/. If you would like Dr. Tarlow to speak or train people in this area, please contact him at mailto:tourism@bihs.net.

2) Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis by Dr David Beirman: Published By Allen & Unwin (Australia & SE Asia) and CABI Publishing North America/ Europe 2003. For more information contact the author at mailto:david@aicc.org.au.

3) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004. It's available through the website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for $25.

4) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward Safe Experiences for Visitors. Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast, and Peter Leggart. Published by Elsevier.

5) Tourism Security & Safety, from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by Elsevier.

6) The Economics of Tourism Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove, Published by Elsevier

7) Beach Safety and the Law, Edited by Jeff Wilks published by Queensland
(Australia) Law Society

8) Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and Eran ketter Published by Elsevier

9) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities. Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (2008). Wallingford: CABI

10) Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy, edited by Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi, London, England

11) Tourism and Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (2008). Wallingford: CABI.
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"Readiness Resource Group" (RRG)
We offer executes programs in Emergency Command Center operations/design, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning under natural disasters, life safety, terrorism and health challenges. Have you thought about food safety? Pandemic planning? How to protect employees and the business model from internal and external threats? Consider RRG for gap analysis reviews and training on existing plans. www.readinessresource.net or shepherd@readinessresource.net "
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Some Upcoming Tourism Conferences

We invite you to submit your conferences to Tourism Tidbits. Please submit request in the form found below. Please note, Tourism Tidbits has received a number of complaints asking why '"My conference" was not listed.

If you do not tells us, then, we cannot list the conference. We are happy to list all conferences about which we are informed. Please follow the format below when sending us a conference announcement. Thank you!

Unless otherwise stated, English is the conference language.


Nov 16-18, 2008
Toronto, Canada,
Association of Corporate Travel Executives
Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
For more information please contact "ACTE Canada" info@acte.org

Nov. 19-21, 2008
Paris, France
9th international Forum on Tourism Statistics
For more information please go to http://www.oecd.org/document/44/0,3343,en_2649_34389_40130924_1_1_1_1,00.html

Nov 20, 2008
São Félix da Marinha - VILA NOVA GAIA - Portugal -
HOTEL SOLVERDE SPA & WELLNESS CENTER - Avenida da Liberdade 4410-154 www.solverde.pt
V International Conference in Hospitality and Tourism
The Tourism in 2009
For more information please contact: Ana Santiago - anasantiago@institutodeturismo.org

Nov. 23-25, 2008
Vancouver, BC, Canada
British Columbia Hospitality Industry Conference
For more information, please visit