Marketing of tourism destinations during a prolonged crisis: Israel and the Middle East

Abstract

Disaster management for tourism has often focused on the post-crisis recovery phase. Unlike natural disasters, political crises can continue to impact on the image of a destination for months if not years. This paper outlines the strategy of the Israel Tourism Office in Australia and the Israel Ministry of Tourism worldwide as it has attempted to minimise the loss of tourism experienced in Israel since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence following the breakdown of the peace process at the end of September 2000. The paper deals with the approach to distribution channels (tour operators, airline,s hoteliers and travel agents), consumers, government nad the media taken by Israel. The Israeli-Palestinian political crisis has also impacted on the Jordanian and Palestinian travel industries, and the paper carries a discussion of the approaches taken by Jordan as a collateral victim of the crisis. The destination marketing management of a prolonged crisis is a core issue in this paper.