TOURIST DESTINATIONS AND DISEASE: VIETNAM?S TOURISM INDUSTRY AND THE SARS CRISIS
Abstract
Tourism crises are becoming increasingly common, triggered by events within and outside the industry. Understanding the crisis process and managing it effectively are thus important issues for those involved in tourism. Vietnam confronted one such crisis in 2003 when the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus, which affected a number of countries in the region, was discovered in Hanoi. Fears of the disease led to a sudden fall in tourist arrivals and prompted a response from the industry in the areas of health and safety, finance, human resources and marketing. Management of the crisis appeared generally successful, although recovery was aided by wider developments. Information obtained from interviews with industry representative is presented and a crisis management campaign model is proposed to help assist in future crises which seem inevitable in the modern world.
References
AFP (2004). Vietnam tourist arrivals up in first half despite bird flu. Agence France Presse, 2 July.
Beirman, D. (2003). Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis: A Strategic Marketing Approach. Wallingford, CABI Publishing.
Booth, S.A. (1993). Crisis Management Strategy: Competition and Change in Modern Enterprises. London and New York, Routledge.
BBC (2003).Vietnam reports post-SARS recovery in tourist arrivals. BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific, 10 June
Cassedy, K. (1991). Crisis Management Planning in the Travel and Tourism Industry: A Study of Three Destinations and a Crisis Management Planning Manual. San Francisco, Pacific Asia Travel Association,
CDC (2004). Basic information about SARS. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/factsheet.htm, accessed 30 April 2005.
Clift, S. and Page, S.J. (Eds) (1996). Health and the International Tourist. London and New York, Routledge.
de Sausmarez, N. (2003). Malaysia's response to the Asian financial crisis: implications for tourism and sectoral crisis management. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 15(4), 217-231.
EIU (2005). Vietnam Country Report. London, The Economist Intelligence Unit.
Faulkner, B. (2001). Towards a framework for tourism disaster management. Tourism Management, 22, 135-147.
Glaesser, D. (2004). Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry. Oxford, Butterworth- Heinemann.
Harvard Business School (2004). Harvard Business Essentials: Crisis Management: Master the Skills to Prevent Disasters. Boston, Harvard Business School Press.
Henderson, J.C. (2003). Managing a health-related crisis: SARS in Singapore. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 10, 67-78.
Herrero, A.G. and Pratt C.B. (1998). Marketing crises in tourism: communication strategies in the United States and Japan. Public Relations Review, 24(1), 83-97,
Laws, E., Prideaux, B. and Chon, K. (Eds) (2007). Crisis Management in Tourism. Wallingford, CAB Internbational.
Nankervis, A. (2000). Dreams and realities: vulnerability and the tourism industry in Southeast Asia: a framework for analyzing and adapting tourism management toward 2000. In Chon, K.S. (Ed) Tourism in Southeast Asia: A New Direction. New York, The Haworth Hospitality Press.
Nguyen Van Binh and Le Van Minh (1997). Vietnam tourism: current state and prospects. Pacific Tourism Review, 1, 173-175.
ATA (2005). Travel advisories: how to use them properly. Pacific Asia Travel Association website. http://www.travelwithpata.com/travel_advisories.html, accessed 14 November 2005.
PATA (2003). Crisis: It Won't Happen to Us. Bangkok, Pacific Asia Travel Association.
Pine, R. and McKercher, B. (2004). The impact of SARS on Hong Kong's tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(2), 139-143.
Ritchie, B.W. (2004). Chaos, crises and disasters: a strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry. Tourism Management, 25(6), 669-689.
Saigon Times (2003). No SARS scare in Vietnam, 25 April.
The Straits Times (2003). Vietnam's victory, 30 April.
VNTA (2005). Vietnam National Tourism Administration website. http://www.vietnamtourism.com, accessed 27 April 2005.
Wilks, J., Pendergast, D. and Leggat, P. (Eds) (2005) Tourism in Turbulent Times: Towards Safe Experience for Visitors. Oxford, Elsevier.
WHO (2005). Avian influenza. World Health Organisation website. http://www.who.int, accessed 30 April 2005.
WHO (2003a). Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS): Status of the Outbreak and Lessons for the Immediate Future. Geneva, World Health Organisation.
WHO (2003b). Summary of SARS and air travel. World Health Organisation website. http://www.who.int, accessed 30 April 2005.
WTO (2003). World Tourism Organisation News Release, 24 June.
WTTC (2005). Country Reports. World Travel and Tourism Council website. http://www.wttc.org/ frameset5.htm, accessed 15 January 2005
Downloads
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Manuscript submitted to ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism has to be an original work of the author(s), contains no element of plagiarism, and has never been published or is not being considered for publication in other journals. The author(s) retain the copyright of the content published in ASEAN Journal on Hospitality and Tourism. There is no need for request or consultation for future re-use and re-publication of the content as long as the author and the source are cited properly.
