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Crisis management and tourism is attracting increasing attention as an industry practice and subject of academic enquiry, not least in South East Asia which has been affected by a number of severe crises in recent years. However, organisations are not always well prepared and response strategies can be deficient. The paper discusses issues of tourism crisis management with specific reference to the popular Malaysian destination of Penang. Findings are based on qualitative research consisting of semi-structured interviews with industry leaders from assorted sectors. Tourism in Penang emerges as vulnerable to regional and global events which act as a trigger for tourism crises, demanding a response in which various strategies are employed. The destination is also seen to recover fairly quickly from experiences of crises, but a well designed and formulated tourism crisis management plan under the stewardship of the public sector is necessary to mitigate further damage in the future.

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This study examines the relationships between hotel service quality failure, customer perceived value, revitalization of service quality, customer satisfaction and loyalty in the hotel industry. A quantitative technique was used to collect data in this study. A number of findings were gathered through the survey of 105 hotel guests in Penang, Malaysia. The findings indicate that hotel revitalization of service quality had positive effects on customer loyalty, while perceived value and customer satisfaction were two significant variables that mediated the relationships between hotel service quality and customer loyalty. It was also found that hotel service quality had no profound and direct effects, but indirect positive effects on customer satisfaction. The recommendations for future research were also discussed in this study.

The paper investigates the effects of the floods which covered parts of Thailand in 2011. It discusses the responses of the public and private sectors and evaluates levels of resilience, making particular reference to the opinions of a group of stakeholders in the capital of Bangkok. The findings from primary and secondary data indicate that the immediate impacts of the disaster were severe, but recovery was rapid and the industry demonstrated a high degree of resilience. Consequences for organisations depended on their proximity to the flooded areas and the size and nature of the business. Shortcomings were revealed in the official approach to disaster management within a tourism context and the lack of a learning culture was observed among private enterprises. Responses were primarily of an ad hoc character and it is suggested that more proactive planning is undertaken and a comprehensive and inclusive tourism disaster management plan is established.