Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Discussion and Conclusion
A number of questions and conclusions arise from the thumbnail sketch of
Toronto’s recovery strategies that have been presented above.
The flow of information and responsible reporting are crucial at all levels.
While it is not the author’s intention to belittle the risks of SARS or to under-
value the loss of life that occurred, it is a fact that greater losses of life occur reg-
ularly in Toronto from influenza or complications from common colds. While
events and situations should be reported and the government of China has been
widely criticized for withholding information, the Canadian media have been
widely accused of scare-mongering and arousing fears where minimal risks, in
fact, existed. For example, the cumulative number of cases of SARS in Toronto
was frequently reported, not allowing for deaths or recoveries, so the number of
persons available to transmit the disease was generally less than implied in the
reports.
In an increasingly turbulent environment, when disaster preparation plans are
commonplace for society as a whole, is it reasonable to expect the tourism indus-
try to have its own disaster reduction and mitigation plans? In an increasingly tur-
bulent environment, what is to be regarded as normal business risk for the private
sector, what risks can be insured against, and when is government involvement
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to be expected? What should be the role of national, provincial, and municipal
governments, and who should coordinate and manage their efforts? What is a rea-
sonable response time?
It may be worth making a distinction between short-term (damage control) and
long-term strategies. The Rolling Stones concert, as a single event, can be viewed
as being a short-term strategy. On the other hand, the collaboration between hotels,
restaurants, and attractions in putting together packages can be viewed as a longer-
term strategy in product development. At the same time, the urgency of embarking
upon and providing additional money for new marketing strategies, under discus-
sion when SARS occurred, was given greater urgency and decisions were proba-
bly brought forward.
Finally, although international visitors are often relatively high-spending, it is
often forgotten that they cost more to attract and are more fickle than the local or
regional market. Some market segments are more risk-averse than others and they
need to be identified. As distance increases, so does the number of intervening
opportunities, and the quality of information tends to diminish. A risk-reduction
strategy can be served by ensuring that more reliable local and regional markets
are not neglected in the pursuit of more fickle distant markets. Even in interna-
tionally prominent destinations, the regional market usually comprises a large pro-
portion of the effective market. After all, if local people will not come, why should
international visitors be attracted to visit?