Symbiotic relationship or not? Understanding resilience and crisis management in tourism

Abstract

This opinion piece argues the need for researchers to shift to resilience rather than crisis management research in tourism studies. While the two concepts are inherently linked, existing studies prioritize the latter rather than the former. Also, a strong focus on disasters as the backdrop for resilience research in tourism is highlighted. I argue that both fast and slow paced changes that impact the tourism system and conceptual issues with respect to concepts such as destination resilience must be studied. I highlight several gaps in the tourism literature on resilience and offer avenues for further research. Specifically, the need for research on destination resilience, psychological resilience, employee resilience and organizational resilience is emphasized.