“TOURISM TIDBITS”
Posted on May 22, 2025
“TOURISM TIDBITS”
FROM
TOURISM & MORE, INC.
The goal of “Tourism Tidbits” is to provide travel professionals with a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas. With proper referencing, we invite you to quote or reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” and to pass it along to friends.
“Tourism Tidbits” is published monthly in English. Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish translation is from Ferran Anguera of Barcelona, Spain. The Portuguese translation is by Lillian Donati Godinho of Lisbon, Portugal.
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Tourism & More’s
Tourism Tidbits
June 2025
Surviving a Crisis: Developing a continuity plan for your tourism industry or business
This is one edition of Tourism Tidbits that you hopefully will never need, but definitely want to keep. No matter how good your risk management may be, the bottom-line is that from time-to-time bad things happen. Often we call these unexpected negative events “black swan events”. The Covod-19 pandemic and the many climate crises have taught us that there is always the possibility of the unexpected crisis. Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes occur, people get sick, a crime happens or a terrorist attack occurs. Often these crises occur at the most unlikely places and come at the least expected times. As a result, it is essential to have a tourism continuity plan. Because no two tourism destinations or attractions are totally alike, a good continuity plan should be tailored-made. Do not simply use someone else’s or a boilerplate plan. What may work in one location may simply not work in another location. Understanding this need for individualization, please consider the following ideas:
-Tourism is about being caring and concerned. Therefore, any tourism continuity plan must put people first. If your plan is only focused on keeping your business going without thinking about both the business’ needs and your visitors’ needs, then the plan will be only half complete.
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-Have a written continuity plan that is understandable to others. Many managers assume that they will be the one to hold their business or tourism locale together in case of a crisis. The problem is that managers and tourism executives are also people, so unexpected bad things can also happen to them. Write out as much as possible and make sure that you leave the plan in an easily accessible place. Make sure that you communicate to your staff that the plan exists and where and how to find it.
-Especially in smaller communities, review your plan with your insurance agent, your police department medical professionals, and other local service providers. There may be a whole host of insurance options that can insure continuity for a very low cost. While an insurance policy cannot provide 100% protection, having the right insurance may mean the difference between continuity and bankruptcy. Having a good relationship with local service providers can mean the difference between a business’ survival and bankruptcy.
-Update your continuity plan on a regular basis. No matter how good your continuity plan may be, as soon as you have written it, assume that it is already outdated. Tourism is one of the least static businesses; it is always in a constant state of change. This means that your business continuity plan must be examined on a regular basis and kept up to date as much as possible.
-Be creative in writing your continuity plan. Make sure that you think not only about all sorts of things that could go wrong, but also remember that in tourism you will have to maintain your sense of hospitality both during and after the crisis. Thus, you will need to think not only about your internal communications system, but how your guests will communicate with their friends and relatives during the crisis. Ask yourself such questions as how you will feed people, what special needs visitors will have and how you may have to communicate with foreign tourists who don’t speak the native language.
-Remember that tourism is as much about perceptions as facts. That means that as part of your continuity plan, you must have a media information plan. The media can paint a story with a positive or negative spin. Should the media portray your locale in a negative light, they can make your business recuperation much more difficult. To guard against that potential, incorporate your guests into the continuity plan so that they become your allies rather than your foes.
-Determine where your business or community’s weak points are and be ready to deal with these issues before they occur. Every locale or business has weak points. It may be a road network, the fact that the airport is close to the sea and therefore vulnerable to flooding or vulnerable to a breach of security, it may be that hotel food services are not up to par, or that there is insufficient medical attention in your community. Know these weak points and think how you will continue should a disaster occur.
-Make sure everyone knows what their role is. A crisis is not the time to hold philosophical discussions; there needs to be one person in charge who gives the orders and has an overall view of the situation. Prior to developing a continuity plan, players should be invited to speak their minds, but once the plan needs to go into action, second guessing becomes counterproductive.
-Understand the importance of “redundancy”. Redundancy is having multiple plans in place so that if for some reason, one back-up system does not work, there is a second one to back-up the back-up system. Redundancy systems not only work as an insurance policy but also help to lower the chances of fear and panic. Not all participants in a continuity plan may be able to perform, for any number of reasons. Therefore, protect the plan by creating player redundancies, so if one person cannot assume the responsibility then there is a back-up person to assume his or her responsibility.
-When bad things happen, our guests need to know that the local authorities are in control, have a plan and have taken the time to care not only about property and profits but also about them. Take the time to think about your worst-case scenarios. If you could not operate your business, how long would you survive? What financial obligations will you have to meet, even if no one walks through the door or comes to visit your community. What would you do if your employees take sick, or transportation services to your locale were to cease?
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The Art of the Assessment Study
Assessment studies are to tourism what medical check-ups are to people. Every locale needs to have a full assessment study to determine both tourism strengths and weaknesses, to build a better industry and to avoid future problems. Please contact Tourism & More for details.
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TOURISM AND MORE’S WIDE RANGE OF SPEECHES AND TRAINING SEMINARS
For a complete listing of topics and information, please check our web page http://www.tourismandmore.com/contact or e-mail us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
Please contact us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com for more information regarding costs and available dates.
All seminars and speeches can be presented in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
1) Tourism challenges in a post-Covid world.
2) Political advocacy through tourism: Using tourism to change the perception of your locale, business, or nation
3) New forms of tourism: from agro-tourism to dark tourism
4) Tourism and Heath: Surviving the Next Pandemic.
5) Surviving disasters originating in nature or from human actions
6) Successful and failed tourism marketing strategies.
7) Avoiding tourism crises by using good risk management techniques
8) Dealing with over- and under- tourism, how to match the number of visitors to your locale’s capabilities
9) Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism
10) Training Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing (TOPPs), how it works and why it is essential for a viable tourism industry.
11) Generational Marketing: How to market tourism to diverse age groups
12) Medical tourism: its advantages and the challenges
13) Something from Nothing: The Art of Creating New Attractions.
14) Dealing with the Media: Transforming the Media into your friend
15) Selling to the Latin American Tourism Market: No, they are not all the same!
16) Selling to the US Market: One country and lots of niche groups
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Books on Tourism in English
In alphabetical order by title. Most of these books are available at Amazon.com or from the publisher
(see below for Spanish and Portuguese language books)
1) A Supply Chain Management Guide to Business by Betty Kildow; BettyKildow@comcast.net
2) Beach Safety and the Law, Edited by Jeff Wilks published by Queensland (Australia) Law Society
3) Challenges to US and Mexican Police and Tourism Stability: Peter E. Tarlow, Emerald Publishing. Available at the Emerald Book store or at Amazon https://books.emeraldinsight.com/book/detail/challenges-to-us-and-mexican-police-and-tourism-stability/?k=9781803824062
4) Event Risk Management and Safety (ISBN 0-471-40168-4) by Peter E. Tarlow, published by John Wiley & Sons. Presenting theory and practical applications. To purchase this book, visit http://www.wiley.com or http://www.amazon.com. If you would like Dr. Tarlow to speak or train people in this area, please contact him at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
5) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004. Available through the website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for $25.
6) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (7th edition) by Philip T. Kotler (Author), John T. Bowen (Author), James Makens Ph.D. (Author), Seyhmus Baloglu (Author). Available on Amazon.
7) Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and Eran Ketter Published by Elsevier
8) Personal Reconstruction, by Peter E. Tarlow, Tom Marrs, Nathaniel Tarlow & Eduardo Leite. How to prevent or recover from a personal crisis. Available at Amazon.
9) Personal Resilience, by Peter E. Tarlow and Séverine Obertelli, Quest Publishing, Miami, Florida
10) Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis by Dr. David Beirman: Published by Allen & Unwin (Australia & SE Asia) and CABI Publishing North America/ Europe 2003. For more information contact david.beirman@uts.edu.au
or go to: https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/tourism-crises-and-destination-recovery/book256475
11) Sports Travel Security by Peter E. Tarlow, published by Elsevier
12) Terrorism and the Economy, edited by Karin W. Glaser, For more information please go to: http://www.elevenpub.com/law/catalogus/terrorism-and-the-economy-1#
13) The Economics of Tourism Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove, Published by Elsevier
14) The Ethics of Terrorism: Innovative Approaches from an International Perspective. Eds Thomas Albert: Publisher: Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Il; USA.
15) The Sage Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism; Three Volume Series, Published by Sage
16) Tourism Crises and Destination Recovery, by David Beirman, Published by Sage Australia. For more information contact David Beirman at David.Beirman@uts.edu.au
17) The Tourism Gaze 3.0 by John Urry and Jonas Larsen. An all-new updated version of a great classic. Published by Sage.
18) Tourism: Principles and Practices, by John Fletcher, Alan Fyall, David Gilbert, and Stephen Wanhill. Published by Pearson
19) Tourism and Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (Wallingford: CABI)
20) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities, Burns, P. and Novelli, M. eds. (2008). (Wallingford: CABI)
21) Tourism Safety and the Security for the Caribbean, Drs. Andrew Spencer and Peter E. Tarlow, Published by Emerald
22) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward Safe Experiences for Visitors. Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast, and Peter Leggart. Published by Elsevier.
22) Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy, edited by Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi, London, England
23) Tourism-Oriented Policing and Protective Services, Peter E. Tarlow, published by IGI
24) Tourism Security: Strategies for Effectively Managing Travel Risk and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow, Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-411570-5
25) Tourism Security & Safety, from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by Elsevier.
26) The 2020 Election: A Survivor’s Guide; Peter E. Tarlow and Steve Vincent, Doppler Printing
27) Twenty Years of Tourism Tidbits: by Dr. Peter E. Tarlow and Dr. Tom Marrs. Available now on Kindle and Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/TWENTY-YEARS-TOURISM-TIDBITS-ebook/dp/B004Q9TIWW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1299276788&sr=1-2
28) 24 Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions by Susan Guyette, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-0-9858788-0-1, On Amazon.com
29) 25 Marketing Strategies to Build Your Outdoor Recreation Business by Evanne Schmarder and Peter Pelland. Published by Train Rec Productions. Please contact E. Schmarder at evanne@roadabode.com to purchase this book or find it on Amazon
Libros en español/ Livros em Português
1. Abordagem Multidisciplinar dos Cruzeiros Turísticos (A Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Cruises) por Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, Ericka Amorim, Cyntia Andrade, Nina Cardona Valéria Mariotti. Por favor contato Ericka Amorim: erickaaa@msn.com.
2) Antropologia e Turismo. Teorias, métodos e praxis, por Xerardo Pereiro e Filipa Fernande. Para comprarlo dirijase a
<http://www.pasosonline.org/es/colecciones/pasos-edita/151-numero-20-antropologia-e-turismo?
3) Desarrollo del turismo en América Latina: fases, enfoques e internacionalización por Wallingre, N. Disponible en http://eyapublicaciones.web.unq.edu.ar
4) Geografía y Turismo. Aspectos territoriales del manejo y gestión del turismo. Editorial Félix Varela. La Habana, 2013, 295 páginas. Autor: Eros Salinas Chávez, contacto: esalinas@ftur.uh.cu
5) Inversión Hotelera, por Alfredo Ascanio. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
6). La Nueva Fiebre del Oro. Las otras ciudades del turismo en el Caribe (Varadero, Bavaro-Punta Cana). Para obter uma copiea deste livro, visite: GGU-AGE: http://www.uib.es/ggu/publicaciones.html OCDS UIB:http://cooperacio.uib.cat/digitalAssets/221/221991_Las-otras-ciudades-del-turismo-en-El-Caribe.pdf
7) ¿Ocio o….Neg-Ocio? por Abelardo Pagani
8) Principios, Organización, y práctica de turismo, por Ramón Martín, Editorial Felix Valela, Havana, Cuba
9) Productos Turísticos, por Medina, Santamarina, y Salinas, Escuela de Altos Estudios de Hoteleria y Turismo, La Habana, Cuba
10) Turismo en el Caribe, por Jesús Manuel González Pérez y otros. Contacto Dr. Gonzalez por información adicional jesus.gonzalez@uib.es
11) Turismo Sustentable, por Alfredo Ascanio y Marcus Vinicius. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
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About the Author:
Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. is the President of Tourism & More, Inc., a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA, and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of the sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and security. Tarlow speaks at governors’ and state conferences on tourism and conducts seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and universities.
If you know of anyone else who might enjoy “Tourism Tidbits,” please send his/her email address to ptarlow@tourismandmore.com, Please let us know of any topic that you would like to see covered by “Tourism Tidbits.” We invite others to submit articles for consideration for publication.
You are welcome to reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” or any part of “Tourism Tidbits” with proper referencing. We hope that you will see “Tourism Tidbits” as a place where tourism, visitor, and travel professionals exchange ideas and information. “Tourism Tidbits” does not offer or provide specific legal or financial advice. Our goal is to provide a “review” for industry personnel and discuss provocative issues. We remind all readers that every specific business decision should be made only after you have done the proper research. The authors accept no responsibility for any loss due to any information published in “Tourism Tidbits.”
All articles sent to “Tourism Tidbits” and accepted for publication are owned by “Tourism Tidbits” and may be subjected to editorial review and rewriting (with permission of the author). All questions about “Tourism Tidbits”, suggestions, or cancellations should be addressed to Dr. Peter E. Tarlow at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com.