The Significance of Crisis Communication in the Aftermath of 9/11: A National Investigation of How Tourism Managers Have Re-Tooled Their Promotional Campaigns

Abstract

After September 11, 2001 (9/11), the United States immediately embarked upon a new way of life, or, as the media describes it, a "new normalcy" (Chura, 2002;Stark, 2002). Throughout Corporate America, managers had to instantaneously re-group, re-strategize, and re-tool their internal and external communication plans. The terrorist attacks on the United States created a crisis in the tourism industry, and have proved challenging even to experienced managers of corporate communication.This investigation examines the post-crisis communication efforts among convention and visitors bureaus (CVB) managers responsible for promoting travel to their destinations. Two theoretical underpinnings serve as the framework for the study: crisis communication theory and strategic communication management. The study examined the tools tourism managers use to promote travel to their destination, how they have redesigned their promotional messages, and how they have redirected their target market focus in the wake of 9/11. Further, this research investigates how the tools used (advertising, tourism marketing, public relations, new media) serve as predictors for redesigning promotional messages and redirecting target markets.

Hurricane Katrina's Effect on the Perception of New Orleans Leisure Tourists

“…This approach may yield enhanced results in ameliorating negative destination images among potential visitors and assist in jump-starting industry-wide recovery. Fall and Massey (2005) noted several destinations that deployed similar marketing tactics after a major crises; for example, the most viable markets (expanded-drive markets) were targeted with a refocused message. They also note that Crisis Response Strategies have been demonstrated to mitigate the negative effects of a crisis.…”

“…This research touched upon the influence of media exposure as it related to destination image development. Fall and Massey (2005) discuss Crisis Communication Theory (CCT) and that the dissemination of accurate information on a consistent basis to key media served as the core of the CCT.…”

“…Further documenting the immediacy for current information, the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism and the Louisiana Recovery Authority was just recently allocated $28.5 million for recovery plan strategy development. Laws and Prideaux (2005) pointed out the significantly positive role that the mass media can play in alerting the population to a crisis but on the other hand, the visual and graphic nature of contemporary news reporting on many occasions exaggerates the scale of the crisis and its impact according to some (Cooper, 2005;Fall & Massey, 2005).…”

“…The Kruskal-Wallis H was generated comparing the time periods (e.g., Fall 2005, January-March 2006, AprilJune 2006, and July-October 2006 to assess the function that the length of time from the event plays on overall tourist destination image assessment. Table 5 presents the mean ranks and significance levels for these groups.…”

Using situational crisis communication theory to understand Orlando hotels’ Twitter response to three crises in the summer of 2016

“…Avoiding communication is often worse than communicating a negative message as the public's trust and the credibility of the organization risks being reduced (Seeger, 2006). The crisis communication literature explains that while crises pose a threat to organizations, they also present an opportunity (Fall and Massey, 2006), providing the organization with a way to revive itself through strategic communication (Seeger and Ulmer, 2001;Ulmer and Sellnow, 2002). Organizations that utilize communication strategies can repair damage from the crisis (Coombs, 1999).…”