Managing a Tourism Crisis in Southeast Asia

Abstract

The paper examines the consequences for tourism of adverse circumstances in Southeast Asia during the late 1990s when the region faced an economic crisis, environmental pollution and political uncertainty. Based upon published data, the impacts of events on tourist arrivals are analysed and the responses of the relevant authorities assessed within the context of crisis management theory. The approaches adopted and their effectiveness varied, reflecting particular conditions in the countries studied, but there are also some marked similarities including an apparent lack of formal planning. While conventional models of crisis management may not always apply, tourism administrators can still learn something from them and are advised to make use of appropriate techniques to minimise the damage caused by exposure to the many forms of crisis that international tourism is prone to.