Crisis Planning and Preparedness in the United States Tourism Industry

Abstract

An empirical exploration of disaster planning and preparedness for the industry finds a reasonably high level of planning, with noteworthy weaknesses. Based on 155 telephone interviews with tourism leaders from three industry segments (namely, lodging, attractions, and promotions), the majority of organizations surveyed had a written crisis preparedness plan which was updated regularly—often annually. Most organizations had direct communication arrangements with local emergency preparedness agencies, but connections with national agencies, notably the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were less frequent. Given that many respondents were in destinations with many visitors (in this case, Florida), perhaps most troublesome finding was the relatively low percentage of written plans addressing procedures for visitors—mentioned by barely half of the respondents—and the relatively low participation in central relocation systems—again, just half of respondents. Overall, resource allocation had a greater impact on whether an organization would engage in crisis planning and communication procedures than did crisis experience.