THC-RM
RISK MANAGEMENT
AS APPLIED TO SAFETY, SECURITY & SANITATION
Prepared by:
li zyl s. dali da
TOPICS
01 Introduction
02 Disasters and Tourism
RISK MANAGEMENT IN TOURISM
03 The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
CRISES AND DISASTERS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
01 Explain the concepts of risk, crisis, and disaster in
MODULE V
the context of tourism
02 Analyze the role of the tourism industry in
community-based disaster and crisis management
03 Apply the Four Phases of Risk and Crisis
Management — Reduction, Readiness, Response,
and Recovery — to tourism-related scenarios to
enhance crisis preparedness and operational
continuity.
Introduction
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre in Bangkok defines disaster as:
‘the serious disruption of the functioning of society causing widespread
human, material, or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the
affected communities to cope using their own resources’.
In Carter’s manual for disaster managers funded by the Asian Development
Bank, disaster is defined as: ‘an event; natural or man-made, sudden or
progressive, which impacts with such severity that the affected community
has to respond by taking exceptional measures’ (Carter, 1992).
The World Health Organization’s definition of disaster is:
‘any occurrence that causes damage, economic disruption, loss of human
life and deterioration in health and health services on a scale sufficient to
warrant an extraordinary response from outside the affected area or
community’.
The common thread in these and other definitions of disaster is that there is
disruption to the community which is of such magnitude that responding
organizations, infrastructure and resources are overwhelmed, and there is
an inability to return to normal without external assistance.
Regardless of the definition used, it is important to realize that disasters are
different in kind and in scope from day-to-day emergency incidents.
Disasters are not simply bigger events; they have a significant impact upon
people and their infrastructure and community resources; they inevitably
overwhelm the capacity of the community and the resources and facilities
available for management of the immediate response, and they produce
long-term problems of restoration and rehabilitation. Disasters are not over
when the flood waters have receded, when the injured have been treated, or
the bodies cleared away. The community has to be put back together: and
the community includes the people, their infrastructure, and resources.
A disaster requires a total community response. One way or another,
everyone is affected by a disaster and by the changes the event causes: to
the economy, through the destruction of jobs and businesses; to community
infrastructure, through destruction of the resources which the community
usually depends upon; or to the social networks and structure, through
death and injury.
Disasters also require an integrated disaster management system: an active
partnership between governments and authorities, organizations, agencies
and the community. Although the tourism industry has rarely been a formal
partner in these processes in the past, it is recommended that tourism
should be a significant element within integrated community disaster
management systems in the future.
This chapter provides a practical framework within which tourism operators
and tourism-related government agencies can address risk management
processes for individual businesses, organizations and tourism destinations.
Disasters and Tourism
The tourism industry is not responsible for the development or
implementation of disaster management plans and arrangements:
community disaster management agencies are responsible for them. Where
possible, though, the tourism industry should participate in disaster
planning and management activities through appropriate local, regional or
national committees. Such participation enables the importance of tourism
to be drawn to the attention of disaster management agencies and
promotes the need for appropriate measures to protect visitors to be
considered and developed.
In this way, tourism operators and destinations can be proactive and
potentially reduce the effects of disasters upon their industry. Importantly,
the particular needs of tourism, including visitors and visitor markets, can be
addressed in the planning processes.
Crisis Management
Crisis is defined as: ‘any situation that has the potential to affect long-term
confidence in an organization or a product, or which may interfere with its
ability to continue operating normally’ (PATA, 2003). Crisis management is
used in this guide as the term which applies to the means by which a tourism
business/organization or destination prepares for, responds to, and
recovers from, a crisis.
Crises for tourism operators and destinations may arise from internal
(organizational) sources or from external events (community events such as
the impact or threat of a disaster).
The Role of the Tourism Industry in Risk Management
There are two fundamental roles for tourism in risk management: the first of
these is as a partner with government and community agencies in the
development of multi-agency, coordinated disaster management plans,
systems, procedures and processes which include the needs of tourism; the
second is to develop plans and procedures appropriate to a destination and
to the specific roles and responsibilities of an organization, to train
personnel to those plans, and to conduct regular tests of plans, procedures
and personnel with subsequent amendment and updating.
No organization involved in disaster management should work in isolation.
Each tourism operator and organization is part of the disaster management
community and should function within the established, coordinated and
integrated system. The development of effective plans and procedures in
the disaster management context is dependent upon:
regular inter-agency meetings, networking and liaison;
implementation of a disaster risk management process;
development of plans and procedures;
establishment and nurturing of partnerships;
community consultation;
Disasters and Tourism
effective communication;
training of personnel;
testing of plans, procedures and personnel through exercises (simulated
disaster activities); and
efficient review and amendment procedures.
The second fundamental role for tourism in risk management is to be
proactive and develop strategies for a destination or an individual
business/organization to maximize the potential for continuity of normal
business and to protect the safety and security of visitors and staff in the
event of a disaster or crisis.
The development and implementation of tourism risk management
strategies which comprehensively address potential risks to tourism are now
becoming an integral part of managing tourism in destinations. These
tourism risk management strategies should link to community disaster
management plans and include actions which tourism operators and
organizations can take to complement the work of community disaster
management agencies.
Risk management plans for tourism should provide, as appropriate and as a
minimum, for:
the safety of visitors and employees;
secure systems to communicate with all persons within the facility and
within the destination;
security of buildings, facilities and equipment from the effects of the
disaster;
contributing trained liaison personnel to the disaster management
agencies during response and recovery operations, as required;
supplying resources to support response and recovery operations; and
procedures for return to normal business activities upon termination of
the disaster operations.
HAZARDS (SOURCES OF RISK)
Hazards and risks are two different things. A hazard is a source of potential
harm (to a community or an organization); while risk is defined as the
chance of something happening that will have an impact upon objectives.
There may be a high level of risk that a hazard will impact upon a community,
for example, or a low level of risk (that is, chance) of the hazard impacting.
Hazards are also referred to as sources of risk. Asia and the Pacific, along
with the rest of the world, face a wide range of disasters and crises from a
variety of hazards including those from:
Disasters and Tourism
The World Tourism Organization (2003) identifies risks to the safety and
security of visitors, host communities and tourism employees from four
sources:
1. The Human and Institutional Environment
These risks exist when visitors fall victim to:
common delinquency (theft, pickpocketing, assault, burglary, fraud,
deception);
indiscriminate and targeted violence (such as rape) and harassment;
organized crime (extortion, the slave trade, coercion);
terrorism and unlawful interference (attacks against state institutions
and the vital interests of the state), hijacking and hostage taking;
wars, social conflicts and political and religious unrest; and
a lack of public and institutional protection services.
2. Tourism and Related Sectors
Tourism and sectors related to tourism such as transport, sports and retail
trade, can endanger visitors' personal security, physical integrity and
economic interests through:
poor safety standards in tourism establishments (fire, construction
errors, lack of anti-seismic protection);
poor sanitation and disrespect for environmental sustainability;
the absence of protection against unlawful interference, crime and
delinquency at tourism facilities;
fraud in commercial transactions;
non-compliance with contracts; and
industrial disputes by staff.
3. Individual Travellers
Travellers or visitors can endanger their own safety and security, and those
of their hosts by:
practicing dangerous sports and leisure activities, dangerous driving, and
consuming unsafe food and drink;
travelling when in poor health, which deteriorates during the trip;
causing conflict and friction with local residents through inadequate
behaviour towards the local communities or by breaking local laws;
carrying out illicit or criminal activities (eg, trafficking in illicit drugs);
visiting dangerous areas; and
losing personal effects, documents, money, etc, through carelessness.
Disasters and Tourism
4. Physical and Environmental Risks
Physical and environmental damage can occur if travellers:
are unaware of the natural characteristics of the destination, in particular
its flora and fauna;
have not undertaken adequate medical preparations for the trip
(vaccinations, prophylaxis);
do not take the necessary precautions when consuming food or drink or
in their personal hygiene; and
are exposed to dangerous situations arising from the physical
environment.
Physical and environmental risks are also largely personal risks: the result of
the traveller’s ignorance or his or her disregard for potential risks. In fact,
overseas visitors are most likely to be injured in unfamiliar environments and
while participating in unfamiliar activities (Page & Meyer, 1997).
Despite these four identified sources of risk, the threat to physical safety
has become the major concern for travellers since the events of 11
September 2001 (World Tourism Organization, 2003).
NATURAL AND HUMAN-MADE EVENTS
Another way to look at the sources of risk to tourism businesses and
destinations is to divide them into natural and Human-Made events. This is
the approach adopted by PATA (2003) and it is very useful since many of the
natural events often occur on a large-scale, and can quickly escalate from a
crisis to a disaster. Examples include:
Disasters and Tourism
The Nature of Disasters
Some hazards are seasonal (for example, cyclones), but others are less
predictable and could occur almost anywhere and at any time. Disasters
differ greatly in their characteristics, and thus in their potential to affect
destinations. When examining the nature of disasters, the following aspects
have to be considered for each potential hazard:
Cause
Is it natural, technological, biological, etc?
Frequency
Is it a regular or seasonal event (eg, cyclone, floods) which can be
anticipated?
Duration
Will it have a limited duration such as an explosion, or be prolonged
(inundation floods, epidemics)?
For tourism this has significant implications for the care and well-being of
visitors and employees. Disasters which can be of prolonged duration will, at
the very least, require the development of contingency plans for the return
of visitors to their homes.
Speed of onset
Will it develop rapidly with little or no time for warnings to be issued (eg,
aircraft crash), or gradually as in the case of floods (except flash floods),
allowing time for warning and perhaps even for protective measures to be
taken?
Having time available to provide warnings and information and for measures
to be undertaken for the protection of people will affect the public’s
perception of the level of preparedness and the response capability of
disaster management agencies within a destination.
Scope of impact
Will the disaster have the capacity to affect only a section or sections of the
community, or will it be diffused, affecting the entire community and
causing widespread disruption to infrastructure, services and facilities?
From a tourism perspective, will the disaster have the capacity to affect a
single tourism operator or a whole destination, or might it have a worldwide
impact upon the tourism sector, such as the September 11 bombing of the
World Trade Centre in 2001?
Destructive potential
Could it damage a single building, or all the homes and buildings,
infrastructure and utilities in the entire community? What type of
destruction (personal injury and/or property damage)?
A hazard capable of destroying a community and its infrastructure will,
again, necessitate the development of contingency plans for the relocation
of visitors to a safer place with essential facilities, and for their return to
their homes.
Although the disaster management agencies will consider each of these
factors from the perspective of the effects upon the community, the
tourism industry should also consider each in terms of their potential effects
upon tourism facilities, infrastructure and operations. Although the tourism
industry should contribute to the community disaster management process,
it is essential at each stage to identify the specific effects and implications
for the tourism industry and operations.
The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
Expect the Unexpected
Management is never under a tougher test than in a crisis situation. What
managers do or don’t do correctly, then and there, can have long-lasting
implications for their organization. A well-defined crisis management
program developed and implemented in advance can help a manager and
their organization shine in what may otherwise be a time of dark disaster for
everyone involved.
The most effective crisis management occurs where a potential crisis is
detected and dealt with quickly before it becomes a crisis. In this case, crisis
communication lines are clear and the plans prepared in advance, prove to
be effective. Managers and organizations with no crisis management system
in place will inevitably have to deal with an unforeseen crisis. Developing
continuity plans may seem like a daunting task, but in reality it is a common-
sense procedure based on established management, planning and decision-
making theory. It involves identifying the strengths and weakness of the
organization, designing contingency plans to mitigate potential loss and
understanding how key stakeholders and the media are likely to react when
they find out about a crisis.
The ‘Four Rs’ of Crisis Management
Crisis management can be broken down into four distinct phases:
1. Reduction detecting early warning signals
2. Readiness preparing plans and running exercises
3. Response executing operational and communication plans in a crisis
situation
4. Recovery returning the organization to normal after a crisis
An effective crisis management system continuously updates and refines
the first two phases, in preparation for the second two.
REDUCTION
The key to crisis management is to identify a potential crisis, then seek to
reduce its impact. Managers need to perform a survey of their organization’s
internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats (a
SWOT analysis). Based on this analysis, they can evaluate the likely impact
on the organization of a particular type of crisis, devise continuity and
contingency plans and work out how to reduce the possibility of a crisis.
READINESS
"Being Ready" involves more than making plans and running an occasional
drill. Organizations need to evaluate their crisis exposure and develop
strategic, tactical and communication plans. Managers must regularly audit
the plans, conduct crisis response exercises and continually acquire crisis
management skills. Managers and staff need to be psychologically and
physiologically prepared for the impact and stresses that crisis events may
impose upon them. Readiness also nips potential crises in the bud.
The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
RESPONSE
Response is dedicated to the immediate aftermath of an event when
everything is at its most chaotic. It will become very quickly apparent
whether the reduction and readiness phases have developed continuity and
contingency plans that are effective. The initial operational emphasis will be
on damage control in both lives and property. The crisis communications
strategy should already be in play, pre-empting and reassuring stakeholders
and the public.
RECOVERY
The best assessment of effective crisis management is if a crisis has been
avoided. However, many crises are "acts of the gods" – seemingly
unavoidable. In this case, a crisis management system’s effectiveness can
be gauged three ways: 1) The speed with which an organization resumes or
continues full business operation 2) The degree to which business recovers
to pre-crisis levels, and 3) The amount of crisis-resistance added since the
crisis. That is, how the lessons learned have been incorporated into ongoing
preparation and preparedness to avoid future problems.
The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
PHASE 1: REDUCTION
A SWOT analysis is a useful tool for understanding an organization’s internal
strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. While this
type of analysis is most commonly applied to businesses, it has equal
application to a tourist destination.
A crisis management-led SWOT analysis should include a special look at the
following:
Existing crisis management and control programmes;
Hazards within the organization, its buildings, policies and processes;
Potential socio-political, economic, technological or environmental
crises; and
Existing relationships with the media, the public and emergency services.
A crisis management-led SWOT analysis will identify potential problem areas
that would otherwise go unnoticed in regular business analyses.
Furthermore, an analysis of this kind will uncover various potential crisis
situations and lay out the resources available or required to manage those
risks. Once the survey and analysis programme has been developed and
implemented, it must be evaluated and kept up-to-date.
Some of the key points to be considered at the Reduction stage include:
Crisis Awareness:
Identify risks and hazards;
Identify possible impacts; and
Intelligence collection.
Political Awareness:
Secure political cooperation; and
Increase political involvement.
Standard Operating Procedures:
Anticipate problems;
Revise procedures; and
Enhance staff awareness.
PHASE 2: READINESS
"Being ready" involves more than making plans and running an occasional
drill. Tourist destinations and businesses need to evaluate their crisis
exposure and develop strategic, tactical and communication plans.
Managers must regularly audit the plans, conduct crisis response
management exercises and acquire crisis management skills. Managers and
staff need to be psychologically and physiologically prepared for the impact
and stresses that crisis events may impose upon them.
The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
PHASE 2: READINESS
The whole chain of command must become part of the crisis management
readiness programme, as it in turn becomes a part of the organization’s
culture. This can be achieved in several ways:
Make a senior executive directly responsible for crisis management
issues;
Draw up a timetable for reporting on crisis management preparedness
issues;
Include all employees in the presentation process;
Make crisis management issues part of the overall strategic planning
process; and • Communicate crisis management policy and procedure to
all stakeholders.
Readiness is not just the second of four phases. An effective crisis
management readiness programme has the opportunity to be the glorious
last stage as it nips potential crises in the bud.
PHASE 3: RESPONSE
Response is dedicated to the immediate aftermath of an event when
everything is at its most chaotic. It will become apparent very quickly
whether the Reduction and Readiness phases have developed continuity
and contingency plans that are effective. The initial operational emphasis
will be on damage control in both lives and property. The crisis
communications strategy should already be in play, pre-empting and
reassuring stakeholders and the public.
A dynamic crisis management programme requires the combined skills of
effective managers and communicators with the authority to take command
of a messy situation. In particular:
Operational managers must have the authority set out in the crisis plan
that allows them to delegate and/or take command in a crisis situation
without fear of repercussions.
A skilled public and media campaigner should be given the authority set
out in the crisis plan to make statements on behalf of the organization.
Public perception of an Organization's openness about a crisis is as
important to the well being of the Organization as the operational
response.
However, it is important to note that responses can be short, medium or
long-term; and either generic or very specific (Tourism Queensland, 2003).
In particular, the importance of promoting the destination during and after
the crisis, and providing incentives to restore the market are tried and
proven responses for tourism authorities across a range of crisis situations
(Beirman, 2003). Partnerships between government agencies and the
tourism industry are critical in times of crisis.
The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
PHASE 4: RECOVERY
Taking Care of Business
According to PATA (2003), the best assessment of effective crisis management is if
a crisis has been avoided in the reduction and readiness phases. However, many
crises are "acts of the gods" – seemingly unavoidable. In this case, a crisis
management system’s effectiveness can be gauged three ways:
The speed with which a destination or organization resumes or continues full
business operations;
The degree to which business recovers to pre-crisis levels; and
The amount of crisis-resistance added since the crisis.
A crisis will increase the level of media coverage given to an organization or
destination. If handled properly this publicity is good publicity and will ensure a
shorter recovery phase by instilling confidence in all stakeholders and customers.
The key to a full recovery will be to encourage a sense of teamwork and
cooperation among stakeholders, which may in turn open the door to the
synergistic benefits of unified branding and marketing strategies.
Business Continuity
A critical issue in the Recovery Phase of Crisis Management is the availability of a
Business Continuity Plan that incorporates rehabilitation, normalization and
expansion.
Aid Programs
While some nations will be able to recover from a crisis situation using their own
resources, when a crisis escalates into a disaster not only is the intervention of
various levels of government required to return the community to normality (the
definition of a disaster), but also international aid is often required.
Monitoring, Review and Communication
A successful crisis recovery program involves three steps. The first is the need for a
debriefing for all involved in managing the crisis. This allows lessons to be shared
and shows an appreciation of the efforts people have made during the crisis period.
Second is a follow-up with the victims of any crisis. These people may need medical,
social and financial support for quite some time after the actual crisis. Finally, the
debriefing and post-crisis time should be used efficiently to update any crisis
management plans.
TOPICS
01 Introduction
02 Disasters and Tourism
RISK MANAGEMENT IN TOURISM
03 The Four Phases of Risk and Crisis Management
CRISES AND DISASTERS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
01 Explain the concepts of risk, crisis, and disaster in
the context of tourism
MODULE V
02 Analyze the role of the tourism industry in
community-based disaster and crisis management
03 Apply the Four Phases of Risk and Crisis
Management — Reduction, Readiness, Response,
and Recovery — to tourism-related scenarios to
enhance crisis preparedness and operational
continuity.
END OF MODULE V