Risk Management as Applied to Safety, Security,

and Sanitation

6
“Understanding Risk Management for Tourism Crises and Disaster”
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Risk Management for Tourism Crises and Disaster

• Understand government disaster management processes

for communities

• Identify and examine issues of risk management

• Know what should be done to address risks.

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The aim of this chapter is to provide background

on the formal government disaster management
processes for communities and to identify and examine
issues of risk management which are relevant to the
tourism industry and tourism operators. Risk
management is concerned with identifying and analyzing
the risks (the chance of something happening) to an
organization or community and deciding what can or
should be done to address these risks.
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Risk Management

Risk is the possibility of loss or injury (Merriam-Webster Dictionary

n.d). In general, risk management involves:

• Recognition of the existence of the risk;

• Identification of the risks;

• Knowing the mitigation measures for each risk; and

• Having the risk management plan approved and disseminated to

those concerned within the tour company.
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Disaster

• Is defined as: ‘an event, natural or man-made, sudden or

progressive, which impacts with such severity that the affected
community has to respond by taking exceptional measures’
(Carter, 1992).

• The World Health Organization’s definition of disaster is: ‘any

occurrence that causes damage, economic disruption, loss of
human life and deterioration in health and health services on a
scale sufficient to warrant an extraordinary response from
outside the affected area or community’.
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Disaster

1. They have a significant impact upon people and their infrastructure

and community resources;
2. They inevitably overwhelm the capacity of the community and the
resources and
3. Facilities available for management of the immediate response, and
they produce long-term problems of restoration and rehabilitation.

Disaster and Tourism

• Community disaster management agencies are responsible for the

implementation of disaster management plans and arrangements.
• Where possible, though, the tourism industry should participate in
disaster planning and management activities through appropriate
local, regional or national committees.
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Crisis Management

Crisis management is the identification of threats to an organization

and its stakeholders, and the methods used by the organization to deal with
these threats. Due to the unpredictability of global events, organizations must
be able to cope with the potential for drastic changes in the way they conduct
business. Crisis management often requires decisions to be made within a
short time frame, and often after an event has already taken place. In order to
reduce uncertainty in the event of a crisis, organizations often create a crisis
management plan.

Crisis - is any event that is going (or is expected) to lead to an unstable and
dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society.
Crisis are deemed to be negative changes in the security, economic, political,
societal, or environmental affairs, especially when they occur abruptly, with little
or no warning. More loosely, it is a term meaning "a testing time" or an
"emergency event".
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HAZARDS
• A hazard is any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health
effects on something or someone.

• Basically, a hazard is the potential for harm or an adverse effect (for

example, to people as health effects, to organizations as property or
equipment losses, or to the environment).

• Sometimes the resulting harm is referred to as the hazard instead of

the actual source of the hazard. For example, the disease
tuberculosis (TB) might be called a "hazard" by some but, in general,
the TB-causing bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) would be
considered the "hazard" or "hazardous biological agent" of risk.
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SOURCES OF RISK

• Natural – cyclone, storm surge, flood, tsunami, earthquake,

mudslide, volcanic eruption, etc.

• Technological – failure of technical systems relating to

industrial sites, transportation, and infrastructure.

• Biological – spread of disease amongst people or animals,

pests, and contamination.

• Civil/Political – sabotage, terrorism, hostage situation, etc.

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HAZARDS (SOURCES OF RISK)

1. The Human and Institutional Environment

• common delinquency (theft, pickpocketing, assault, burglary, fraud,

deception);

• indiscriminate and targeted violence (such as rape) and harassment;

• organized crime ;

• terrorism and unlawful interference (attacks against state institutions

and the vital interests of the state), hijacking and hostage taking;

• wars, social conflicts and political and religious unrest; and

• a lack of public and institutional protection services.

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2. Tourism and Related Sectors

Tourism and sectors related to tourism such as transport, sports and retail
trade, can endanger visitors' personal security, physical integrity and economic
interests through:

• poor safety standards in tourism establishments (fire, construction errors,

lack of anti- seismic protection);

• poor sanitation and disrespect for environmental sustainability;

• the absence of protection against unlawful interference, crime and

delinquency at tourism facilities;
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3.Individual Travellers

Travellers or visitors can endanger their own safety and security, and those
of their hosts by:

• practicing dangerous sports and leisure activities, dangerous driving,

and consuming unsafe food and drink;

• travelling when in poor health;

• Causing conflict and friction with local residents through inadequate

behavior towards the local communities or by breaking local laws;

• carrying out illicit or criminal activities (eg, trafficking in illicit drugs);

• visiting dangerous areas; and

• losing personal effects, documents, money, etc, through carelessness.

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4. Physical and Environmental Risks

Physical and environmental damage can occur if travellers:

• are unaware of the natural characteristics of the destination, in

particular its flora and fauna;

• have not undertaken adequate medical preparations for the trip

(vaccinations, prophylaxis);

• do not take the necessary precautions when consuming food or

drink or in their personal hygiene; and

• are exposed to dangerous situations arising from the physical

environment.
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The Nature of Disaster

• Cause - Is it natural, technological, biological, etc?

• Frequency - Is it a regular or seasonal event (eg, cyclone, floods)

which can be anticipated?

• Duration - Will it have a limited duration such as an explosion or be

prolonged (inundation floods, epidemics)?

• Speed of onset - Having time available to provide warnings and

information and for measures to be undertaken for the protection of
people will affect the public’s perception of the level of preparedness
and the response capability of disaster management agencies
within a destination.
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• Scope of impact - From a tourism perspective, will the

disaster have the capacity to affect a single tourism operator
or a whole destination, or might it have a worldwide impact
upon the tourism sector, such as the September 11 bombing
of the World Trade Centre in 2001?

• Destructive potential – A hazard capable of destroying a

community and its infrastructure will, again, necessitate the
development of contingency plans for the relocation of visitors
to a safer place with essential facilities, and for their return to
their homes.
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Q1.1.6-1
“Risk Management for Tourism Crises and
Disaster”

Pen & Paper

none
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Q1.1.6-1

1. Differentiate the crisis management from risk management using the table
provided below.
Crisis Management Risk Management
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Q1.6.1-1

For Flexible Distance Learning:

• Document/File, Screenshot or photo of hand written answer on bond paper and
uploaded at Edmodo Apps

For Modular Distance Learning:

• Handwritten bond paper and submitted at AISAT Campus

• Five days after the discussion.

• Nov 13, 2020
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