Risk communication strategies in the tourism industry in disaster prone areas

Abstract

Indonesia as the third most disaster-prone country in the world. This is due to the frequency with which natural disasters occur in Indonesia. Crisis management and disaster mitigation will be one of the policy orientations for developing tourism and the creative economy in 2023, with the objective of strengthening the contribution of tourism and the creative economy to national economic resilience. Several tourism managers in areas prone to natural disasters do have not an understanding of the communication risks involved in mitigating potential natural disaster threats. The objective of this qualitative descriptive research is to identify a risk communication strategy for the tourism industry in disaster-prone areas. The perception of fundamental risk determines the risk communication strategy. This article utilizes the pre-disaster phase of the disaster management cycle in the 'Principles of Emergency Planning and Management' to develop a risk communication strategy for the tourism industry in disaster-prone areas. The article findings identified a six-step risk communication strategy for the tourism industry in disaster-prone areas: conducting a situation analysis by examining the potential based on the geographical conditions of the tourist area; identifying potential risks based on stakeholders; developing a risk communication plan for each potential risk that is divided into internal and external communication; and establishing a crisis communications team.