Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

The Damage
Though most tourist destinations in the United States were adversely affected by
the September 11 terrorist attacks, the targets, New York City and Washington, DC,
were particularly devastated by these events. Washington, DC’s tourism industry
weathered not only the initial blow of September 11, but also the closure of the
Reagan National Airport for several weeks after the attack and reduced flight
schedules for many months. Additionally, famous tourist attractions, such as the
White House and the US Capitol Building, were shut down to tourists for several
weeks. The situation was further exacerbated by anthrax scares that erupted in
October 2001. As a result of these conditions, hotel occupancy plummeted to
41.8% the week following the attacks, a 52% decrease from the same period in
2000. REVPAR declined to $41.25 the first week after the attacks, a 62% plunge
from the same period in 2000 (STAR Report, 2001). Hotel taxes decreased sub-
stantially in the September through November timeframe compared to the previ-
ous 2 years as recorded in Table 2.
Such sudden prolonged decreases in business created a business crisis for hotel
owners and managers. Hotel managers were forced to make hard decisions to con-
serve cash by severely reducing operating costs and deferring capital improve-
ments. As room sales remained dismal for several more weeks, hotel managers
were forced to make the most difficult decision to severely reduce the work sched-
ules or lay off most of the 75,000 employees directly supported by the hospitality
industry in Washington, DC (Hedgpeth and Irwin, 2001; Twomey, 2001; Sheridan,
2001). Steep discounts on room rates and other sales promotions were offered by
hotel operators to entice visitors to return to hotels (Lonnig and McCaffrey, 2001).
Washington, DC Hotels’ Response to Terrorism
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Table 2