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Feed the press during a crisis, expert urges
WTM 2004 Special: Consultant Mary Lynch advised tourist boards and companies to be honest with their customers and treat the media like children during a crisis.
Lynch, an expert in crisis management following a stint as chief executive of the English Tourism Council during the Foot and Mouth disease and September 11, was advising Caribbean tourism chiefs, who have recently seen Hurricane Ivan wreak havoc on many islands.
Speaking at the Caribbean Tourism Organisation European Marketing Forum on the eve of World Travel Market, Lynch said: “You must keep faith with your customers and give them positive and honest information in a crisis.
“These days people have mobiles with cameras and can get images to the world very quickly. You have to be faster than your fastest customer.
“You also have to learn to love the media because the advent of 24 hour news brings demands. I enjoy working with journalists but you have to think of them as children – they get hungry and they get bored so they need to be fed constant information.”
Lynch said that people do not attach blame to a company or tourist information for an act of God, such as a hurricane, but the way a crisis is handling can impact a brand.
“You have to co-ordinate your approach with the government,” she said.
“The government deals with safety issues and the tourism industry deals with re-assuring people.
“There is a short period when the government is very receptive to your needs, so you need to know what you want, in terms of grants or other help. Soon the government will move on to dealing with other issues such as running the country and if you haven’t been quick on your feet, you can miss out.”
Lynch said she felt that generally the Caribbean had reacted well during hurricane Ivan and it was important to invite the media back to damaged islands when they are again ready for business.
“It will be an opportunity to say things are even better than before and you have used the period to refurbish and improve as well as repair.”
Lynch said that it usually takes around three years for countries and companies to recover from a crisis.
Report by Jeremy Skidmore
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