Tourism Crisis Management Institute

2011-2012 Annual Report

2011 natural disasters cost global economies $435 billion

- eTurboNews, 1/10/2012

Olympics security issue: Lack of guards forced British military to fill in

- The Associated Press, 7/14/2012

Concordia disaster: How safe are modern cruise ships?

- BBC News, 1/17/2012

Message from the Director

This year has been very productive and eventful for us here at the TCMI. As the global tourism industry continues to be affected by crises ranging from financial uncertainty to extreme weather events, many tourism organizations are faced with negative perceptions and financial impacts. As we enter our sixth year, we remain committed to preparing the industry to handle crises through research driven solutions that address reduction, readiness, response, and recovery issues. As suggested by the global tourism industry, we have begun to explore the possibility of developing a tourism crisis preparedness certification (page 7).

The past year has proven that social media is not a fad. Thus, the tourism industry is faced with many challenges and opportunities in adopting social media as a standard business practice. As the emergence of social media in crisis communication continues, it is apparent that social media serves as a voice for the tourist, as well as the industry. We have been and will continue to focus on research in this area, as we feel that it is critical for practice and academia (pages 11, 13). Lastly, I would like to congratulate Dr. Ignatius Cahyanto on his doctorate and position as an Assistant Professor at Black Hill State University, South Dakota. We look forward to continuing our partnership with him on tourism crisis management related research initiatives.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray Director of TCMI and Associate Professor

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Faculty & Global Affiliates

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Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D. Brijesh Thapa, Ph.D. Ignatius Cahyanto, Ph.D. Ashley Schroeder, M.S. Director Director Research Associate Doctoral Research Associate Tourism Crisis Management Institute Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute

Global Online Certificate Instructors UF Affiliates Ignatius Cahyanto Corene Matyas– Department of Geography Amy Elliot Siva Srinivasan– Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering Elaine McLaughlin Christopher Schons (Spanish)

Global Affiliates Ibrahim Abu-Helil– Middle East University Pekka Iivari– Lapland Institute for Tourism Research and Education (Finland) Christian Arteaga– DTS Consulting (Peru) Pablo Ramirez– DTS Consulting (Chile) Ana Cecilia Rivas Medina– Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Peru) Carla Santos– University of Illinois Trace Gale– Centro de Investigación en Ecosistemas de la Patagonia (Chile) Sandra Sotomayor- Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Peru) Diana Guerra Chirinos- Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (Peru) Jorge Villegas– University of Illinois, Springfield

Ph.D. Student Highlight

Ignatius Cahyanto, Ph.D. Last year was an exciting year for me. With funding from the Holland American Lines of the Tourism Cares, Southeastern States of Travel and Tourism Research Association, and the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, I completed my dissertation in which I specifically model tourist’s evacuation decision based on individual characteristics, travel behaviors, information search, and risk appraisal. The findings explained the intricacy of understanding human behavior in the event of a crisis. Hurricanes are not a situation where a “cookie-cutter” approach of everyone being treated equivocally will be effective. Consequently, unless the emergency management agency and DMOs build nuances into their hurricane communication plans for tourists, they will not be successful with the wide variety of all potential tourists. In addition to working on my dissertation, I published research articles and presented at international conferences in the area of tourism crisis management.

Having received a doctoral degree in tourism in the summer of 2012, I accepted an assistant professorship position in Tourism and Hospitality in the School of Business at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. I plan to expand my research interest in the area of tourist behavior in the event of crises and will continue to collaborate with TCMI on multiple projects to widen our knowledge in tourism crisis management in the future. My connections with TCMI and UF will continue no matter where I am in the world. I am grateful for my experiences with TCMI and for all that I have learned through my work with TCMI.

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Master’s Student Highlight

Ashley Schroeder, M.S. Over the past two years, I have had the amazing opportunity of working as a TCMI Graduate Research Associate while working towards a Masters in Tourism. I started with TCMI shortly after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and quickly realized that social media can play a pivotal role in tourism crisis management. This observation sparked my interest in researching the tourists’ potential use of social media as an information source if a crisis were to occur while traveling. My research has also explored the drivers of tourists’ use of social media in times of crises. Additionally, I am interested in other aspects of crisis management, including risk perceptions, Tourism Area Response Networks (TARNs), and tourism crisis preparedness certifications. With a strong emphasis on research throughout my studies, I have made over ten presentations at international and regional conferences and co-authored several peer-reviewed manuscripts.

As I embark on my doctoral studies, I am eager to continue to carve a research niche in the area of social media and tourism crisis management. While my research to date has explored the demand side of tourism, I intend to extend it to examine social media use during crises by the supply side. I also plan to delve further to determine the types of social media being used during crises and the likelihood that information will be shared via social media by both the supply and demand sides. Given that this line of research is embryonic, I have ambitious plans for continuing to produce innovative, applied research in this area as a TCMI Doctoral Research Associate..

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Online Certificate Program

Tourism Crisis Management To address the critical need to prepare tourism industry professionals for crises, TCMI developed and offers comprehensive online tourism crisis management certificates in two languages, English and Spanish.

The certificate program aims to prepare industry professionals in the development of programs, policies, and recovery from human-induced and natural crises. Participants develop a tourism crisis management plan for their destination or organization that will enable them to mitigate economic, social, and environmental consequences of crises.

The online certificate program in tourism crisis management is only offered by the University of Florida’s Tourism Crisis Management Institute with its unique approach to blending and implementing current research with leaders who have planned and implemented crisis management for tourism destinations and businesses. While other certificate programs speak to general planning for all types of businesses, this is the only series targeted specifically to the tourism industry and its varied segments, by sector. The program content is clear, comprehensive, specific, and actionable.

This year, we had students from Florida, Georgia, and Texas; as well as from Japan, Chile, and Peru. For more information about the certificate program and upcoming dates, visit www.tourismcrisis.org.

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Applied Research Highlight

Drivers of Perceptions of Tourism Crisis Management Certification Our research scenario read: “We are interested in getting your feedback on a new program that travel destinations in the U.S. are considering. Some U.S. destinations are considering implementing a tourism crisis management certification process, which would better prepare the destination, its guests, and its travel and tourism industry in the handling of a crisis. After completing a rigorous certification process, the destination would display a logo and signage which would indicate to travelers that the destination is “crisis ready.” Using a scale from 1-5, where 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree, to what extent do you agree with the following statements?” Our results suggested that age, presence of children, and four attitudes towards certified destinations were all drivers of a greater likelihood to travel to a certified tourism crisis prepared destination.

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Crisis

Prepared

Destination

Applied Teaching Highlight

Tourism Planning Competition:

LEI 3831 Goes to BFREE in Belize TCMI’s Director taught an undergraduate class in the Spring 2012 semester which examined an existing tourism business in the Belizean rainforest. The purpose of the class was to strategically aid BFREE in a tourism plan which would take them into the next decade.

The class was broken into groups of 4-6 students and the competition lasted throughout the semester. Each group was required to develop a five-year strategic plan. The winning group was entitled to visit BFREE and revise their plans based on the current situation onsite. Two teams won the competition: Belize in Yourself and Soaring Initiatives.

From Belize in Yourself: Lisa Heinemann, Belle Benedetti, Monica Yukopila, Kalina Drencheva, Morgan Weinberg, and Yiran Wang

From Soaring Initiative: Steffani Ouano, Katy Martin, Steve Broadhead, Liberty Bostwick, Shannon Stafford, and Lucia Velaso Please see Katy Martin’s YouTube video of part of her experience in Belize…

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30NBPf8QlDI

During early May, ten students from the UF course, Tourism Planning, traveled to Belize with their professor, Lori Pennington-Gray. Their goal was to experience BFREE first hand after spending the semester learning about the organization and developing a five-year plan for the thoughtful growth of tourism on site. Students toured BFREE's trails and facilities, interviewed staff members, and gave presentations of their plans to the staff members in Belize. After their time in the rainforest, they traveled to Placencia to check out other tourist destinations in Belize. Look for their staff interviews in our August eNews.

Forthcoming Study Abroad– Spring, 2013

Tourism Crisis Management in Peru: Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu The University of Florida’s Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management (TRSM) and the Universidad San Ignatius de Loyola (USIL), Lima, Peru, will be offering a 10-day study abroad trip to Lima, Cusco, and Machu Picchu, Peru in Spring 2013. Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray will be leading a group of undergraduate and graduate TRSM students who are interested in tourism crisis management on the May 2013 trip.

Students will visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Machu Picchu with the goal of using the case of Machu Picchu to better understand crisis management specific to tourism. The program will also focus on topics such as culture, environment, natural resources, sustainable development, crisis management, and tourism planning and development. Accordingly, TRSM and USIL students will examine tourism crisis management aspects of managing the World Heritage Site. The study abroad will include a working relationship with the local Ministry of Environment to address issues related to tourism and the management of disasters, as well as field visits and meetings with additional tourism officials and local tour operators. As a part of the program, students will work together to provide recommendations for safety and security to the Ministry of the Environment.

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TTRA Webinar

TTRA Educational Sessions

Disasters and Emergencies: Utilizing Social Media with the

Unexpected in the World of Tourism Ashley Schroeder and Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray were invited by Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) International to conduct a webinar on February 8, 2012. The one-hour webinar focused on understanding the risk perceptions and potential use of social media during a crisis by international tourists.

An overview of the critical need for tourism organizations to include social media in everyday business practices and crisis management was presented. Given that there are numerous potential sources where tourists may seek information in the event of a crisis, the likelihood that tourists would seek information via social media was compared with additional information sources. The webinar concluded with global best practices for including social media in the four phases of tourism crisis management: reduction, readiness, response, and recovery.

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International Speaking Engagement Highlight

Internacional Seguridad Turistica en las Americas

Lima, Peru Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray was invited by Mincetur to present Contributions from Academia on Tourism Crisis Management at a UNWTO sponsored event on June 20, 2012.

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International Speaking Engagement Highlight

Tourism Safety and Security System

Lapland, Finland Dr. Lori Pennington-Gray was invited by LUC Tourism to present International Tourists’ Perceptions of Safety & Security: What Roles Does Social Media Play? on April 17, 2012.

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International Presentations

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). How to Create a Winning Website. Presented as a part of a series of seminars. Funded by FAVACA, hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Antigua, June 29.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). Why is Social Media Necessary for Promoting your Agritourism Business? Presented as a part of a series of seminars. Funded by FAVACA, hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Antigua, June 28.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). What is Packaging? How do you Create Award Winning Packages in Agritourism? Presented as a part of a series of seminars. Funded by FAVACA, hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Antigua, June 27.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). What is Agritourism? Presented as a part of a series of seminars. Funded by FAVACA, hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Antigua, June 26.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). How to Partner to Grow Agritourism Products? Presented as a part of a series of seminars. Funded by FAVACA, hosted by Ministry of Tourism, Antigua, June 26.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). Contributions from Academia on Tourism Crisis Management. Presented at Conferencia Internacional SEGURIDAD TURÍSTICA EN LAS AMÉRICAS, Lima, Peru, June 20-22.

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., Donohoe, H., Kiousis, S., & Mandala, L. (2012). Do Cultural Differences Influence Tourists’ Likelihood to Seek Information Via Social Media in the Event of a Crisis? Paper Presentation at the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Conference. Virginia Beach, VA, June 17-19.

Cahyanto, I., Pennington-Gray, L., Thapa, B., Srinivasan, S., Matyas, C., Kiousis, S., & Villegas, J. (2012). Gender, Residence, Past Experience and Communication in Tourist Hurricane Evacuation. Paper Presentation at the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference (TTRA). Virginia Beach, VA , June 17-19.

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., & Lane, C. (2012). The Next Traveling Generation: How is the Millennial Generation Using Social Media during Travel? Paper Presentation at the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Conference. Virginia Beach, VA, June 17-19.

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). International Tourists Perceptions of Safety and Security: What Role does Social Media Play? Tourism Safety and Security System in Lapland. Lapland Institute for Tourism Research and Education. Rovenemi, Lapland, April 16-18.

Pennington-Gray, L., & Schroeder, A. (2012). Disasters and Emergencies: Utilizing Social Media with the Unexpected in the World of Tourism. Webinar presented as part of the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Webinar Series. February 8.

Schroeder, A., & Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). International Tourists’ Perceptions of Safety of the Top Ten U.S. Destinations. Paper Presentation at the 2012 International Crisis and Risk Communication (ICRC) Conference. Orlando, FL, March 5-7.

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Publications

Refereed Conference Proceedings Cahyanto, I., Pennington-Gray, L., Thapa, B., Srinivasan, S., Matyas, C., Kiousis, S., & Villegas, J. (2012). Gender, Residence, Past Experience and Communication in Tourist Hurricane Evacuation. Proceedings of the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference (TTRA). Virginia Beach, VA, June 17-19. (Digital copy, no page numbers)

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., & Lane, C. (2012). The Next Traveling Generation: How is the Millennial Generation Using Social Media during Travel? Proceedings of the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference (TTRA). Virginia Beach, VA , June 17-19. (Digital copy, no page numbers)

Schroeder, A., Pennington-Gray, L., Donohoe, H., Kiousis, S., & Mandala, L. (2012). Do Cultural Differences Influence Tourists’ Likelihood to Seek Information Via Social Media in the Event of a Crisis? Proceedings of the 2012 Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Conference. Virginia Beach, VA, June 17-19. (Digital copy, no page numbers)

Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). International Tourists Perceptions of Safety and Security: What Role does Social Media Play? Proceedings of the Tourism Safety and Security System in Lapland. Lapland Institute for Tourism Research and Education. Rovenemi, Lapland, April 16-18. (Digital copy, no page numbers)

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Refereed Journal Articles Villegas, J., Matyas, C., Srinivasan, S, Cahyanto, I., Thapa, B. & Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). Florida Tourists' Individual Traits and their Influence on Affect, Risk Perception, and Likelihood of Evacuation after Exposure to Hurricane Warning Messages. Natural Hazards. DOI: 10.1007/s11069-012-0119-3 Online First (March 9).

Kim, J.E., & Pennington-Gray, L. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics in the Tourism Industry: Using a Survey of Managers. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 17(2).

Pennington-Gray, L., Kaplanidou, K., & Schroeder, A. (2012). Drivers of Social Media Use Among African Americans in the Event of a Crisis. Natural Hazards. DOI: 10.1007/s11069-012-0101-0 Online First (February 6).

Pennington-Gray, L., Schroeder, A., & Kaplanidou, K. (2011). Examining the Influence of Past Travel Experience, General Web Searching Behaviors and Risk Perceptions on Future Travel Intentions. International Journal of Safety and Security in Hospitality and Tourism, 1(1), 64-92.

P.O. Box 118208 Gainesville, FL 32611 USA

352-294-1658

www.tourismcrisis.org

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