Although the COVID-19 crisis will eventually pass, nothing will undermine a destination’s recovery quicker than a major recurrence of the disease, or the eruption of another crisis which reignites fears about the safety of visitors and causes mass cancellations of travel bookings.
It is therefore essential that organisations and businesses planning their recovery from COVID-19 use this experience to improve their ability to respond quickly and effectively to the next crisis – whether it is a natural disaster, an act of terrorism or another health situation.
The purpose of this document is therefore to help Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), and other components of the travel value chain to consider how they would communicate with key internal and external audiences in a crisis, particularly in today’s “always on” media landscape, where breaking news of major events such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks usually spreads first on social media.