Risk, Crisis and Disaster Management
Introduction Crisis and disasters are quite common in respect to every kinds of industry, and they are also quite prominent in respect to tourism, events and hospitality industry in particular. The nature of the tourism industry indicates that it is highly exposed to disasters and crisis related situations. As for instance, most of the tourism destinations are located in the areas of natural beauty and they are at a greater risk of danger and natural disaster. In addition to this, such an industry is also vulnerable to risk in the form of terrorist attacks and such disasters have negative impact on its entire image. Crisis and disasters can be in many forms and they could impact the overall performance of entire hospitality industry directly (Glaesser, 2006). It is essential that there should be efficient risk treatment options available so that the management of risks can be ensured positively and the entire performance of the tourism industry could be enhanced in particular. This essay is aimed at analysing the factors that influence the level of risk associated with crisis disaster situation in the tourism and hospitality industry and it also analyses the risk treatment option to manage crisis and disaster situations (Miles, 2011). Factors Influencing the Level of Risks Associated with Crisis and Disaster Situation in Tourism This section of analysis is now focused towards performing an analysis of factors influencing the level of risks associated with the crisis and disaster situation in respect to tourism, events and hospitality industry. In order to perform an analysis of such factors, it is highly important to analyse the crisis or disaster related situation as applicable in respect to such tourism industry in particular. An analysis of the literature indicates that the disaster or crisis situation in tourism industry can be regarded as situation involving international war or conflict
or it can be prolonged manifestations of international conflict. The act of terrorism is also regarded as crisis situation in such industry, especially when tourists are targeted. These are the crisis related situations that are applicable in respect to tourism industry caused by human acts. But the crisis and disaster related situation is also evident from natural calamities and circumstance. As for instance, natural disaster in the form of earthquake, volcano and floods could affect the urban areas and ultimately the tourists get affected as a result of it. The health concerns related to epidemics and diseases also results into the situation of disaster and threats within such industry condition (Shakya, 2009). As there are various such situations and cases that impact the overall performance of tourism industry, there are certain major factors that influence the level of risks associated with crisis and disaster situation in tourism. The major factor that influence the level of risks as indicated in the existing literature are perceived risk in tourism, characteristics of tourism, and the complexity of crisis management in tourism. These are the important factors that that influence the crisis vulnerability in the tourism industry. An analysis of the ways in which these factors influence the level of risk associated with crisis and disaster situations is performed as follows:
Perceived Risk in Tourism: This has been an important factor that influence the level of risks associated with crisis and disaster situation in tourism industry. The role of perceived risk is significant especially in respect to decision making process of the potential buyers. Risk perception is regarded as a decisive factor in and it has considerable level of impact on the demand of tourism. As for example, higher the perception of risk in respect to a destination, the demand for the tourism is regarded as lower and vice versa. This implies that perceived risks in tourism is regarded as major
factor directly affecting the performance of tourism industry. Tourists do not prefer to travel to a destination that has higher level of perceived risk, as there are wide ranges of choices of destinations that are available to them. As such, the association of destination with any kinds of negative image is likely to be a major factor that impacts the performance of tourism destination (Hosie, 2009). There is an inherent component of uncertainty in respect to tourism industry, as distance travelling to unknown location involves certain kinds of risks. Crisis in the form of September 2011 attack have a negative impact on the overall image of the tourism industry and it creates a sense of feeling of danger and ultimately enhances potential risks within them. As a result, this is a crucial factor affecting the overall performance level of the tourism industry, as risk factor increases which lead to lower number of tourists visiting that particular place (Glaesser, 2006). The role and importance of image of the destination is crucial and it is therefore essential that the image of the target destination should be maintained as
positive with a view to accomplish large number of tourists coming to the country. Tourism Characteristics: All the industries are exposed to certain level of risks and the nature or characteristics of tourism industry in particular further exposes it to significant level of crisis situation. The major characteristics of tourism service industry that exposes it to severity of crisis are its labour intensive nature, higher level of integration with the customer groups etc. The entire effectiveness of the performance of such industry is dependent on people which significantly enhance the overall level of risks in performing the management of its operations in a positive manner. In tourism, the tourists are required to move from one place to another in availing its services and this is a major factor increasing overall level of risks. The tourism characteristic is an important factor that affects the level of risks associated with crisis and disaster situations. The perishable
nature of tourism product influences the overall efficient functioning of the tourism industry in the instance of disaster. As for instance, the lost revenue as a result of lower number of tourists visiting a destination because of crisis in the form of natural disaster poses significant level of risks to the efficient survival of such tourism industry in particular. This is mainly because such crisis as a result of natural disaster leads to decline in the confidence level of tourists and their lower overall inflow across the country results into declining revenue to the entire industry performance. Because of tourism characteristics, such lost revenue as a result of crisis could not be recovered and this can
be regarded as a major loss to the entire industry’s performance (Hosie, 2009). The Complexity of Crisis Management in Tourism: The complexity of crisis management in the tourism industry is another contributing factor that gives rise to the issue of higher level of risks in performing its complete management. The unpredictability nature of the crisis in the tourism industry is a major factor that increases the overall management of risks within it. As for instance, terrorist attack is quite unpredictable and at the same time, there has also been higher level of unpredictability with respect to natural calamities and situations. These further increases the overall complexity level of managing the tourism industry and the resulting impact is increased overall risk levels in performing its efficient management. Another major factor reflecting the complexity in the crisis management in tourism is mainly the “ill prepared” nature of the tourism industry. This is also a major factor that impacts the complexity levels in respect to crisis management in tourism industry. The smaller organisations within such tourism industry do not have adequate level of resources which lacks their adequate level of preparation in dealing with the issues in respect to crisis management. The lower level of resources with them exposes
them to higher level of threats in performing the management of their tourism business efficiently (Wilks, Pendergast and Leggat, 2006). Risk Treatment Options in Managing Crisis and Disaster Situation The management of risks as faced by the tourism industry from crisis and disaster related situation is crucial and it is essential that there should be appropriate risk management strategies that should be implemented in advance. As there are various issues being noted in respect to the efficient performance of tourism industry, it is essential to consider efficient risk treatment options. As for instance, with respect to the crisis situation as a result of natural calamities, it is highly difficult for the tourist operators to efficiently address such issues. However, the most efficient risk treatment option could be the great leadership on the part of leaders and managers within the tourism industry to devise appropriate strategies aimed at protecting the tourists visiting across the country (Hosie, 2009). The tourist organisations are required to plan the unthinkable in ensuring that they efficiently deal with the unexpected situations and conditions. In addition to this, the tourism developments need to be sustainable in ensuring positive level of growth and developments even during the time of disasters and crisis. Apart from this, with respect to the disaster related situation of ill prepared condition, the small tourism service providers should try to manage the situation by managing adequate level of funds through diverse sources. This would help them in coming up with appropriate solutions aimed at meeting out the disaster related situations in a positive manner. These are some of the risk management strategies that could be considered in appropriately dealing with the issues related to disaster preparation in respect to tourism industry management. Although the management of natural disasters affecting the tourism industry performance is difficult to manage, yet the analysis of the solutions above revealed that there can be positive level of confidence that could be developed
within them and sustainable tourism industry performance can finally become possible (Ritchie, 2009). Conclusion In this essay, a critical analysis has been carried out in respect to the factors that influence the level of risk associated with crisis and disaster related situations in tourism, and the performance of analysis revealed findings that there are various such factors that have direct level of implication in respect to crisis and disaster situation in respect to tourism industry in particular. The analysis has indicated the major factors as the perceived risk in tourism, tourism characteristics and the complexity of crisis management in tourism. These are the important factors that further increases the level of risks as faced by the tourism industry in particular and it is therefore essential that there should be appropriate risk management strategies that should be considered in this respect. The analysis indicates that the most significant risk management strategy that could be applied is mainly the consideration of efficient leaders performing the management of tourism organisations, adaptation of unthinkable strategies aimed at meeting out the risk management options in particular.
References Glaesser, D. (2006). Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry. 2nd ed., Routledge. Hosie, P. (2009). Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry: Beating the Odds? Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Kaynak, E. and Uysal, M. (2012). Global Tourist Behavior. Routledge. Miles, D.A. (2011). Risk Factors and Business Models: Understanding the Five Forces of Entrepreneurial Risk and the Causes of Business Failure. Universal-Publishers. Ritchie, B.W. (2009). Crisis and disaster management for tourism. Channel View Publications. Shakya, M. (2009). Risk, Vulnerability and Tourism in Developing Countries: The Case of Nepal. Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH. Wilks, J., Pendergast, D. and Leggat, P. (2006). Tourism in Turbulent Times. Routledge.
