Risk and Crisis Management in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector

Categories of risks in the tourism industry and crises in tourism. Functions of risk management. Methods of risk analysis and forecasting. Risk mitigation strategies. Stages of a crisis. Strategic crisis management measures. Early warning systems. Recovery strategies. Risk and crisis management practices in the tourism industry – case study.

Risk and crisis management constitutes an integral part of the overall management of tourism and hospitality, applied at the destination level by public sector bodies and communities, larger destination-level enterprises, and individual businesses. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework and the steps required for its integration into tourism organizations. The course framework includes a detailed presentation and in-depth analysis of the concept and characteristics of a crisis, categories of tourism crises, and strategies for both proactive and reactive crisis management. Upon successful completion of the course, students will:

• Acquire knowledge of the ERM framework and understand how it is applied in the tourism industry.
• Acquire knowledge of methods and techniques for risk identification, risk analysis, risk control, risk monitoring, and risk communication.
• Understand the importance, types, and impacts of tourism crises.
• Understand the processes for prevention, avoidance of escalation, and management of a crisis.

Week 1
Enterprise Risk Management in the Tourism Industry

Week 2
Risk Identification

Week 3
Risk Analysis

Week 4
Risk Management Strategies – avoidance, control, transfer, acceptance

Week 5
Risk Monitoring, Risk Communication, and Key Risk Indicators (KRIs)

Week 6
Types of Financial Derivatives

Week 7
Categories of Risk in Tourism

Week 8
Crisis Management

Week 9
Communication in a Crisis

Week 10
Early Warning Systems

Week 11
Bonds, Futures Contracts, and Catastrophe Swaps

Week 12
Types of Tourism Crises and Their Impacts

Week 13
Case Studies – Tourism Crisis Management

• Crisis Management in the Tourism Industry, (2006), Dirk Glaesser, Elsevier
• Tourism Crises: Causes, Consequences and Management (2007), Joan C. Henderson, Elsevier
• IEC 31010 – INTERNATIONAL STANDARD, 2019
• Enterprise Risk Management — Integrated Framework, COSO, 2004
• Risk and Crisis Management in Tourism Sector, COMCEC, 2017
• ISO 31000 - Risk management , 2018

• Independent work
• Search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information using appropriate technologies
• Adaptation to new situations
• Decision-making
• Project design and management
• Work in an interdisciplinary environment
• Generation of new research ideas

• Use of ICT in teaching, laboratory education, and communication with students
• Support of the learning process through the e-class electronic platform

Written final examination including:

• Short-answer questions
• Multiple-choice questions
• Comparative evaluation of theoretical concepts

The assessment criteria are communicated to students at the beginning of the course.