Introduction
Over the years, tourism has developed as the world’s fastest growing industry and hence the largest sector for most economies. Accordingly, it has become one of the extensively implemented development strategies within national and regional sectors, repressing effective, and for other countries the only means of obtaining social and economic development that is considered elastic. However, at the same time, it can prove to a casual observer that tourism, as well as tourists, has increasingly become exposed to risks, disasters and crises that have often threatened the tourism industry. To some extent, this has contributed to negative impact on destination development. In fact in the past few decades, international tourism has experienced various economic, environmental as well as political disasters that have not only contributed to the effects of tourism internationally and nationally but as also taken place with increasing regularity.
It is worth noting that the tourism industry, like any other economic sector, faces a challenge from negative occurrences. However, the impact specifically to the tourism industry is diverse as opposed to the impact on other ways of living. Most of the time, it is almost impossible to immediately recover after a crisis. One of the major setbacks is the extent of deterioration of destination attractiveness. The destination and active businesses in tourism often face these challenges. A few years back, companies considered negative occurrences as extraordinary and less likely. However, recent developments indicate a necessity to establish crisis management as fundamental part of the physical and scientific consideration. While so doing, companies are faced with a primary task that despite the best intentions and increased efforts applied in the aim of preventing; risks are never completely managed and therefore totally excluded.
Also, it is worth noting, however that it has been long identified that tourism is increasingly susceptible and responsive to external forces or shocks and as perceived or actual destination factors or ‘barrier’ that include inferior sanity and health condition as well as the inadequacy of food, personal or overcrowding risks to tourists. In other words, modern international tourism history is replete with cases of economic crisis, environmental disasters, health scares, political upheaval, terrorist activity and warfare, all of which have had impacts on the path and scale of the flow of tourists. In fact, Faulkner (2001) indicates ‘tourism destinations in all corners of the globe are faced with the virtual result of encountering a tragedy of one form or different at some point in their past’ (pg.142).
Major Impacts of Risks and Crises
Various attacks in different parts of the world have occurred. In this case, the genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994 is a perfect example (Blake & Sinclair, 2003). Evidently, the genocide had negative consequences not only to the tourism sector but also to other vital sectors of state’s economy. For instance, the number of tourists visiting Rwanda decreased drastically because of the high levels of insecurity. However, in the long run, that is, after the country had recovered from the genocide, various people around the world now visit the country to witness the leftovers in memory of the 1994 genocide. It implies that, the genocide leftovers now act as tourist attraction platform.
Also, the impacts of the genocide have gained considerably more significance in tourism research. Attacks on tourists in such incidences represent a particular form of tourist crises because normally the affected destination is often hit while unprepared. Images of destructions and fright root themselves in the minds of potential traveler, and the loss in demand strongly affects the tourism industry and a local population.
With examples of experienced attacks, genocide effects are seen from economical viewpoints, socio-cultural perspective, and political perspective and usually cause critical conditions for the affected places. Until today, there are restrictions to economic effects from tourism studies. They mainly refer towards the extent of loss in demand by attackers and to preventive actions and strategies that cope are identified under risk and management of crisis.
However, within international tourism most disasters and crises have short term economic impacts which tend to be local or regionally defined. In other words, over almost 50 years, international tourism has largely been affected by various issues, yet at the global level, it has indicated an extraordinary resistance and ability that has not been matched by most industries. In fact, 2001 was the second year that international tourist arrivals experienced negative growth as a result of economic slowdown since 1950 globally; this was as a result of the economic slowdown in the Western countries and events that followed such as the event of 9/11 (Glaesser, 2006). Even in 2001, International Arrivals reduced and by simply 0.5 percent over previous years and the results in that year followed a growth trend compared to previous decades. Ideally, considering regional, national or destination levels, economic penalties that come as a result of tourism crises have their importance
The Rwanda genocide crisis brought negative consequences that include fall in demand as well as the revenues, salaries and profits, accompanied by a rise in cost, investments and reduction of staff members and even closure of tourism organizations in Rwanda. On the other hand, the genocide event created opportunities for introduction of new and innovative tourism products and management programs for tourism, access to new products and the opportunity to obtain different ways of reducing costs. Papatheodorou et al., (2010) claim that reduced number of tourists expedite the introduction of e-commerce practices in tourism, which results in a substantial reduction in transaction costs. Also, in the country – Rwanda – most introduced positive developments in services quality and greener initiatives was to seek improvement of their competitiveness and avoidance of reduction in prices
It is clear that not only crises and disaster in tourism happen numerous times, but are also infinitely variable by nature, duration, intensity, impact as well as recovery. Therefore, while the genocide occurrence in Rwanda might have had long-term effects on the flow of tourists and associated costs with rebuilding and repair, there are places that experienced lasting crises effects within their tourism sectors. Perhaps they should consider the employing strategies such as the one for Sri Lanka which currently builds a successful tourism industry that started from the mid-1960s, accompanied by intentional arrivals. Since then, activities that involve attacks has until recently resulted in ‘roller coaster’ record for tourists receptions and arrivals, with periods of claim accompanied by particular events that have had impacts of island tourism image as a destination (Henderson, 2007). Additionally, the recent peace initiatives propose that crisis after 20 years may finally be at peace to socio-economic benefit.
Accordingly, strategic management of tourism, either globally, in industry sectors or particular destinations would receive benefits from applications and development of more holistic procedures of sustainability, including management of crisis and vulnerability analysis equipment, as section or part of iterative instead of linear approaches. It is important to note that the relationship that involves substantiality and management of crises components preparation, recovery and prevention is not a linear cause-effect relation. Rather, crises may precipitate destination with regards to recovery strategy that becomes preventive or for stages considered to be preparatory to a long-term sustainability of the tourism industry.
Thus, the learnt lesson from the Rwanda genocide crisis has relations to people’s contribution to the management of sustainability bearing in mind any future scenarios. Similar occurrences take place in multilayered canvas; that involves complex relations to economic, socio-cultural, and political as well as overall industry characters. Collectively, these points suggest that every tourist destinations should have crisis management in place to respond to a possible disaster.
Future Trends in Risk and Crisis Management
Only of late has crisis management become a major center of consideration for tourism research. Some of the reason for this is because tourism production has relatively short growth history and that profitable important that tourism sectors have achieved over previous years is mostly unrevealed. Tourism sectors in the past were spread from major crisis due to steady growth and in the incidence of such occurrences, it recuperated relatively fast, more specifically from small incandesces (Ritchie, 2004).
Despite this, crisis management significance has increased for the individuals that actively participate in the tourism trade. In Rwanda the genocide event brought challenges to the tourism sector for many years. It, in fact, it reminds us of the exposure and that crisis management should be considered, and not ignored by destination other companies. Like most business, crisis management relies on accurate preparation and one through a consideration of underlying issues and relations that cause crises. When this acknowledgement is not present, unnecessary circumstances and crises are created that can be avoided. The consequences of such are then not only brought up by consumers and the tourism industries but have also increased effects on an economy and society.
Most crisis, more specifically in tourism sectors, initiate and are penalties of the perceived issues that relate to destinations and tourism products and are hardly ever the result of substance or objectives deficits. Events such as the genocide in Rwanda can only be avoided and coped with deliberate and set measures of marketing. However, it is vital to note that marketing instruments depend strongly on creativity during normal circumstances and in times of crisis. The presentation of instruments cannot, therefore, be finished. As a result, the value of crisis management can be considered manifold.
However, it often assures sustainability development of tourism and prevents unwanted circumstances. It also allows destination that was so far debarred from the development due to structural social, political among other issues to contribute to tourism. This is especially relevant for most developing nations that choose tourism development. However, it has to be taken into consideration that structural issues that are usually found in such countries have previously subsisted for a long period and cannot easily be preventive crisis management.
Consequently, taking into consideration future industry trends, hospitality, and tourism marketing research need to reach deeply into an examination of the involved and possible eradication approaches of risks and crises. Even though diverse issues such as relationship management, satisfaction, and electronic marketing have a good representation, the issue that relates to safety and security fell short of the industry needs. Studies that address the current economic and political environments should ensure precise guidelines that relate to crisis management that will ensure current industry concern is served (Racherla & Hu, 2009). Especially tour operators, crisis management, will soon become an integrative part of the service bundles for a package holiday that can be considered a part of the quality strategy. Factors such as unfamiliar languages, unawareness of the visited country, foreign currencies and unfamiliar customs were at one time essential reasons to why choosing a package holiday was necessary.
Currently, however, the increase in traveling experience of tourists questioned the benefit of these and created a deprivation in such forms of travelling. Accordingly, taking into consideration these previous ideas such as the package holiday for travelling on a trip with ease of mind, crises management has become like a more result of useful complementary service that a tour operator can provide. As for travel insurance, clients are prepared to provide payment for a premium for service keeping that is presently available, even though they hope not to confront circumstances where they might need it. Despite the usual unpleasant feeling related to the word ‘crises,' tourist are begging to value crisis management and the effort that are undertaken towards ensuring safety. This changing attitude highlights the growing significance of crisis management for the future
Tourism Management Dynamics additionally provides insights into the future management techniques and equipment that can be used in the tourism industry for tourism organizations and destinations with the aim of addressing current trends. Management tools proclaim that the future of tourism should be predicted all through an observation of fundamental trends and indicators (Santana, 2004). Therefore, it is recommended that decision makers, planners, managers, academic researchers and even politicians can come up with suitable tools that can be effective in ensuring management of crises. For the case of Rwanda, the current administration has to put necessary measures and serious steps to stop such crises from happening in the future. Also, it is recommended that the Rwanda government invests heavily in tourism research. Among central arguments for this is that the future tourism success is intrinsically linked to the manner in which tourism system acknowledges and incorporates the current critical trends that provide support for risk and crisis management that will assist in helping the major challenges that tourism industries undergo.
References
Blake, A., & Sinclair, M. T. (2003). Tourism crisis management: US response to September 11. Annals of Tourism Research, 30(4), 813-832.
https://www.academia.edu/375556/tourism_crisis_management_us_Response_to_September_11
Faulkner, B. (2001). Towards a framework for tourism disaster management.Tourism management, 22(2), 135-147.
http://sci-hub.io/10.1016/S0261-5177(00)00048-0
Glaesser, D. (2006). Crisis management in the tourism industry. Routledge.
Henderson, J. C. (2007). Tourism crises: causes, consequences and management. Routledge.
Papatheodorou, A., Rosselló, J., & Xiao, H. (2010). Global economic crisis and tourism: Consequences and perspectives. Journal of Travel Research,49(1), 39-45.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517700000480
Ritchie, B. W. (2004). Chaos, crises and disasters: a strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry. Tourism management, 25(6), 669-683.
http://sci-hub.io/10.1177/0047287509355327
Racherla, P., & Hu, C. (2009). A framework for knowledge-based crisis management in the hospitality and tourism industry. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 50(4), 561-577.
http://sci-hub.io/10.1016/j.tourman.2003.09.004
Santana, G. (2004). Crisis management and tourism: Beyond the rhetoric.Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 15(4), 299-321.
http://sci-hub.io/10.1016/j.proeng.2011.12.683
