Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Intifada
). Their main conclusions are that:
■
When assessing the performance of hotel managers in times of security induced
tourism crises, there is a need to examine both their recognition of the importance of
measures that assist the organization in times of crisis and also their level of usage.
■
Four crisis management practices were identified among Israeli hotel managers:
marketing, infrastructure (or hotel) maintenance, human resources, and govern-
mental assistance.
■
With regard to hotel managers in the Israeli hospitality sector, there is considerable
correspondence between their perceived practices’ importance and their usage.
And lastly Nevenka Cavlek looks at the role of tour operators in crisis manage-
ment. Being responsible for a large proportion of overall global tourist movements,
it is their prime interest to ensure risk-free travel. Also, their level of involvement
in both domestic and international demand for tourism makes them one of the most
vulnerable sectors within the tourism system once a tourism crisis occurs. Leaning
mostly on the Croatian case, her main conclusions are that:
■
The crisis behavior of tour operators toward the destination primarily depends on
the type of crisis, its dimensions, its predicted length, its consequences in the
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receiving country, the tour operator’s own business interests in a country, and deci-
sions by the governments of the generating countries.
■
Since tour operators influence the way a particular destination is viewed by
tourists, they have to be highly selective when it comes to promoting destinations
that represent a differential level of risk.
■
The more a tour operator is vertically integrated with companies in the receiving coun-
tries, the more attention it pays to the quick recovery from security oriented crises.
■
The return of the large tour operators to an affected destination is a strong indication
that the situation is safe enough to visit. Thus, tour operators have a major task in
restoring confidence among tourists and other stakeholders in the affected destination.
Tourism Security and Safety: From Theory to Practice
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