Key Terms of Discussion

As already noted, the field of disaster and crisis research within the tourism discipline is relatively recent and there is, therefore, a developing stream of meanings for the key terms of ―crisis‖ and ―disaster‖ in the literature, indeed they are often used interchangeably. Generically, tourism is a modern term describing everything connected with travel and in 1994 its then peak bodies, the World Tourism Organisation and the United Nations, collaborated on a definition for it as

―the activities of persons travelling to, and staying, in places outside of their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other

74 purposes‖ (WTO-UN, 1994, p. 5). This was later revised (WTO, 1997, p. 3) to define the tourist as ―visitor‖ as mentioned earlier in this chapter.

According to the Chief of Communications of the World Tourism Organisation,

…we define a crisis as any unexpected event that affects traveller confidence in a destination and interferes with its ability to continue operating normally

- Luhrman, 2004, p. 1

The literature shows that crises are understood in the general business environment as cyclical economic problems, a process that negatively influences the development of a company to a considerable extent, either endangering the affected company or making its survival impossible (Krystek, 1987; Schulten, 1995; Glaesser, 2003). The assessment of a crisis situation should focus on whether the organisation still has the ability to achieve important corporate goals, significantly those that exert considerable influence over the future survival of the company.

Pauchant and Mitroff (1992, p. 15) believe that a crisis is a:

…disruption that physically affects a system as a whole and threatens its basic assumptions, its subjective sense of self, its existential core.

Selbst (1978, cited in Faulkner, 2001, p. 136) defines a crisis as:

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…any action or failure to act that interferes with an organisation‟s ongoing functions, the acceptable attainment of its objectives, its viability or survival, or that has a detrimental personal effect as perceived by the majority of its employees, clients or constituents.

Gee and Gain (1986, p. 3) extend a wider definition of crisis beyond organisations in the tourism industry to the whole destination:

The term „tourism crisis‟ is now being used with increasing frequency by destinations whose economy has suffered from an immediate drop in visitor arrivals…

Sonmez et al. (1994, p. 2.2) define it in more concrete terms:

…any occurrence which can threaten the normal operations and conduct of tourism related businesses; damage a tourist destination‟s overall reputation for safety, attractiveness and comfort by negatively affecting visitors‟

perceptions of that destination; and, in turn, cause downturn in the local travel and tourism economy, and interrupt the continuity of business operations for the local travel and tourism industry, by the reduction in tourist arrivals and expenditures.

Faulkner (2001, p. 136) considers the principal distinction between what can be termed a ―crisis‖ and a ―disaster‖ to be the extent to which the situation is

76 attributable to the organisation itself, or can be described as originating outside the organisation. Thus, he says, a ―crisis‖ describes a situation:

…where the root cause of an event is, to some extent, self-inflicted through such problems as inept management structures and practices or a failure to adapt to change.

while he suggests a ―disaster‖ can be defined as:

...where an enterprise . . . is confronted with sudden unpredictable catastrophic changes over which it has little control

Miller and Ritchie (2003 p. 151) point out that the implication of whether a situation can be described as a crisis or a disaster is crucial in designing response options and also the ability to reflect on the situation and make changes subsequent to negative events. Their distinction between the two is that a crisis implies the need for change to prevent the situation occurring again, while a disaster requires responses to limit the impacts should there be a repeat occurrence.

For the purposes of this thesis, a disaster is an event which triggers a negative outcome, the conditions of which constitute a crisis. Within the life of the crisis is a period of chaos.

There is a range of definitions of the term ―crisis management‖ and while no

77 standard one gets universal support, there is acceptance of its subdivision into two main activities, crisis prevention and crisis coping (Glaesser, 2003, p. 12). Crisis prevention should be understood as preparation for uncertain future damage or negative events. In contrast to crisis coping, Glaesser writes, crisis prevention is characterised by continual occupation with the subject in two activities, crisis precaution and crisis avoidance, which don‘t necessarily temporally succeed each other. Crisis coping has connotations of acceptance of a condition and is suddenly initiated; it portrays an active and intended exertion of influence over the situation that can be carried out by the affected organisation or others (Ibid., p. 14). The critical conditions to cause ―crisis management‖ to be implemented can be traced back to the onset of certain ―negative events‖ such as those cited at the start of this chapter. These events are so described for their potential to interfere with the normal flow of the organisation‘s environment, Glaesser notes (Ibid., p. 23).

2.12. Summary

This review has separately assessed the literature on the core subjects of the research: tourism, the media, chaos theory, disaster and crisis. It has reviewed the operating environments of the two relevant industries and then analysed the research on how their operational inter-dependency is affected by disaster conditions. The literature review sets the theoretical context for the research by connecting the prevailing themes and, in particular, the susceptibility of tourism to crisis and to negative media reporting as a result of the crisis. While the role of the media in tourism is clearly highlighted, the literature reveals a paucity of research

78 into the effective interplay between the two industries in times of crisis. There is less discussion of the reporting or publishing environment – in terms of situational difficulties for reporters and editors – during times of crisis, just as there is little first-hand analysis of the crisis environment as experienced by the tourism operator within a crisis-affected region. The literature review found no academic study from the media perspective of the effects of its reportage on the tourism industry. With some exceptions, the literature carries a reflective perspective that is expected when researchers are removed in both time and place from the crisis location and have little if any experience of the realities of contemporary, on-the-spot media coverage. This study, which brings the media perspective more fully into the frame, will hopefully cast further light on the crucial interdependency of media and tourism and offer ways of improving the often fractious relationship in times of crisis.

In essence, the review has set the scene for the ensuing chapters. It has established the tourism industry as a set of systems made up of tourists, their generating region, the destination region and the methods of travel they use to get there. It has outlined the paradigm for crisis management that has emerged from the analysis of how the tourism industry has acted during natural disasters, terrorist attacks, financial crisis and crime in the past few decades up to now. The news routines of the media have been described, illustrating the process of story selection, story development and distribution in a digitally-enhanced global media system. Crisis and crisis management definitions and models have been canvassed and the concept of Chaos Theory has been introduced as a means of developing a deeper

79 understanding of the environment in which both the media and tourism operate when a crisis strikes. The review has shown that the relationship between media and tourism in these circumstances is characterised by antagonism and mistrust and underscores the need for a better working relationship based on transparency and honesty. The four case studies that examine the evolution of four crises in forensic detail will illustrate this relationship in action. The next chapter outlines the research approach and methodology used for the case studies.

80 CHAPTER 3