Level of Risk Associated with Crisis and Disaster Situations in the Tourism - Coursework Example

Research Essay Name Course Institution Tutor Date Introduction The tourism, hospitality and events industry all over the world can be said to be facing high levels of risks and more so in regard to crisis and disaster situations. These mainly have a major impact on the performance of the industries. Most of the disaster and crisis situations are very unpredictable in all the three industries. A good example of such a disaster is terrorism, it greatly influences the operations in the three industries, and this mainly leads to tourists searching for other alternatives that seem safer to them. Among the three industries, the tourism industry is very vulnerable to the crises and more so where there is low trust in the government of the country, high level of risk and when the crisis management plan in use is weak. The hospitality industry on the other hand is also affected and mostly when the risk level is heightened. The hotels which are part of the hospitality industry tend to have weaker security system and they are vulnerable due to the high number of people accessing them as well as the wide media coverage they receive when they are faced with an attack. The events industry is also vulnerable and more so when there are major mega events taking place. Thus, it can be stated that, there are a great number of factors that have an influence to the level of risk associated with crisis and disaster situations and a number of risk treatment options need to be used to manage crisis and disaster situations. Factors that influence the level of risk associated with crisis and disaster situations in the tourism, events and hospitality industry A number of events mainly disrupt the flow of tourists all over the globe and this mainly makes the tourists to look for other alternative destinations that they can visit and at the same time, feel secure. There have been major incidences of disruption in the industry and this can mainly be attributed to the disasters and crisis. Despite the fact that there exists great number of disasters and crisis that can have a major influence on the tourism industry, each one of the factors is very distinct from the other. A major factor that can have a noteworthy influence in the industry is terrorism. According to Sonmez et al., 1999, terrorism can have major impacts on the industry as compared to other factors and more so the natural disasters. He supports his argument by stating that, despite the fact that the natural disasters have been found to impede on the flow of tourism, terrorism tends to have a great impact by intimidating the individual travelling in a severe way. This is clearly depicted by the realignment of the various travel flows, cancellation of flights, hotel booking and vacations. This is mainly the case in periods when terrorism is heightened (Augustine 2000). Vulnerability is a major risk factor that is associated with terrorism activities. Vulnerability is termed as the susceptibility to attack. Thus, irrespective of the industry that an organization is operating in, there is need to always reduce the level of susceptibility with the aim of ensuring that the players gain profits and there is business continuity (McEntire 2005). Tourism destinations tend to be facing higher level of susceptibility to terrorism when there is a high level of risks and when there exists a weak risk management plan in place. There are other factors that are considered and which tend to augment the level of risks. A major one is the trust in the government of the country. Hamelin et al (n.d), supports this fact by stating that, when a great number of individuals have low faith levels in the government of country, there are high chances of terrorism taking place. This will result in a reduction of the tourism activities since the tourists will shun a way from such areas and thus there will be an increased risk level. This will affect the profit margins in the industry and other establishments in general. In general, there are a great number of factors that will influence the disasters, crisis in the industry and this will heighten the risks, and more so in association with terrorism, which is the major risk that the industry is facing now and in the near future. The hospitality industry is also affected greatly, this can be viewed from the perspective of the disturbances of the disaster and crises that crop, and they alter the accommodation choice of the guests. In this case, guests are likely to choose hotel and accommodation facilities, which are secure and less susceptible to terrorism and other kind of disasters (McEntire 2005). It is crucial to note that, all the three industries that is the tourism, events and hospitality industry are inter related and thus when one of them is affected, others are also affected in one way or another. When hotels are compared to other facilities such as the military facilities and the government entities, they can be said to have weaker security system in place and thus making them more exposed to the various terrorism threats. Hotels also seem to be greatly targeted due to their already developed location, media coverage because of attacks and their brand names (AlBattat et al 2013). In addition, hotels also offers higher levels of access and this in a way heightens the risk levels. Though the events industry is in a way interrelated to tourism and hospitality industry, it does not profit from them. In instances when the hospitality and the tourism industry have been disrupted by terrorism, the events industry is also likely to be affected but not in the same degree (Henderson 2007). In the events industry, the mega events are highly vulnerable to crises and more so to terrorism. A great number of those events are usually open to the public and a great number of people attend them. There is limited security while other applies high levels of security but despite these, the events are still susceptible to the attacks. For that reason, while the mega-events can be viewed as significant opportunities to the businesses and the governments, they can also bring about a number of challenges and liabilities. In instances when disasters occur, the event is terminated and it has a number of undesirable consequences to the organizers, the public, and business people and to the government. Such occurrences affects the reputations as well as the popularity of such events in the future and people may fail to attend future events due to fear (Henderson 2007). Risk treatment options to manage crisis and disaster situations While managing the hospitality, tourism and hospitality industry, it is no longer a question of whether a crisis or a disaster will occur for it is all about realizing that these situations are unpredictable. Thus, measures needs to be put in place to deal with the disasters and crises when they occur (Augustine 2000). When one is planning for emergencies, since the risks and disasters can be classified as risks, they need to take note of the internal and external factors. In relation to the internal factors, they should take note of factors such as communication, collaboration and control. This is based on the notion that, when there is no collaboration, control and clear communication, the situation can be addressed in the most inappropriate manner (Ruff and Aziz 2003). In addition to the above factors, another common and major factor that needs to be considered is the commitment of the management team in the adoption and development of the emergency management plan. This plan acts as a major guidance and offer updated and the right message before, during and after the crisis and this plays an essential role in dealing with the situation at hand (Faulkner 2001). Faulkner 2001, advocates for an emergency risk and disaster management plan with which the first step entails the proactive planning as well as emergency preparedness. This step mainly involves the management of issues, scanning of the hazard, risk reduction, forecasting and this is mainly followed by the development and adoption of plans. The second step entails preparedness as well as implementation of the planning. The aspects which are considered under this step includes but are not limited to, evaluation of planning and control, communication of the disaster, stakeholder collaboration and management of resources (Ruff and Aziz 2003). The last step entails the resolution, evaluation as well as learning and it encompasses the restoration and resolution in addition to organizational learning. Other authors further argue that, to deal with a disaster and crisis in an effective manner, the disaster responses ought to be conducted in six major phases (Faulkner and Vikulov 2001 and Ritchie 2004). The first step is the pre-event phase and it entails the planning for any crisis or disasters and looking for what to prevent or mitigate the effects. The second stage is the prodormal phase and in this phase, there seems to be an urgent need to activate and put in place the managerial places. Players in the hospitality industry are left with no options but to face the hazards as they come. The third phase is the emergency face, this is termed as the period when the disaster strikes, and the damage is done to the facility or to the destinations. The other phase is the intermediate phase and in this phase, the players in the industry needs to adopt emergency plans with the aim of helping people affected to get out of that situation (Ritchie 2004). This phase is closely followed by the recovery plan and whereby, the long-term plans are applied and efforts are made to rebuild or renovate the affected areas. The last phase is the resolution phase, which entails the evaluation, improvement and organizational learning with the aim of planning for any other hazards that may occur in the future. At the same time, there are efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of other disasters or crisis that may occur. Thus, businesses operating in the hospitality, tourism and events industry need to make use of the above crisis and disasters management plans and through it, they can comfortably manage the various crisis as well as disastrous situations as they crop up (Faulkner and Vikulov 2001). Conclusion In conclusion, there exists many disasters and crises that are likely to impact the three industries that is the events, hospitality and tourism industries and this can take place in different and unique ways. A major example of a crisis that affects the industries in a similar magnitude is terrorism. Terrorism has affected the tourism industry greatly and this is evidenced by the reduced number of tourists, loss of reputation and the low profit margins. Terrorism has also affected the hospitality industry in a similar magnitude and in this case, the hotels reputation has been jeopardized and this tends to decrease the number of guests, which ultimately means a reduction in the profit margins. The events industry is also affected in a way, when terrorism occurs in certain mega events, the reputation of such events is affected, and their profit margins since people keep away from such events. Thus, from the above discussion, it is evident that, the three industries are highly susceptible to crisis and disaster situations and thus the need for an emergency plan in place. The plan will play an essential role in that, the risks will be minimized and the consequences of the crisis and disasters will be lessened. At the end of the day, the risks levels of terrorism are highly dependent on the factors that influences the risks and when the players in the three industries applies all the options discussed above, they can manage the disasters and crisis in a better way and reduce the impact. 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