Consulting Services

There are three types of consulting services that we can provide based on what point in the disaster lifecycle the client is in: planning, emergency support, and recovery.

Planning

Advance planning and preparation can greatly reduce the impacts of a disaster. Many organizations in the travel sector have crisis management plans; however, communication continuity and image recovery are often overlooked in those plans.

A Crisis Communications Plan is an essential requirement for all organizations in the travel industry. Furthermore, those plans must be updated at least once annually to account for changes in personnel and technology.

Services for travel industry organizations in the planning stage:

Analysis of existing crisis communication plans, including recommendations for updating and incorporating new technology.

Drafting a Crisis Communication Plan specifically for your organization.

Emergency

When disaster strikes, onsite managers are consumed with the urgent issues of the disaster, including emergency medical operations, evacuation of tourists, and communicating with off-site managers and supervisors. This is the most critical time for implementing the Crisis Communications Plan: the decisions made and actions taken during the days immediately following the disaster will determine the longevity of the economic impacts of the disaster. Not having someone available to the media can create a vacuum of information, which often leads to misinformation. Having the wrong person giving information to the media can be even worse.

Services for travel industry organizations in the emergency stage:

Information monitoring – Using our own patent-pending software, The Travel Ferret™, we monitor thousands of sources on the Internet for information about your organization, destination, or the disaster. These sources include major network media and news outlets, travel news, blogs, travel review websites, popular social-networking sites, as well as all of the major search engines and online travel agencies. You will receive immediate alerts via email or sms, as well as an updated webpage containing all items discovered.

Information dissemination campaign – We will push your press release and updates, which we can help you draft, to all sources used by The Travel Ferret™, including major network media and news outlets, travel news, blogs, travel review websites, popular social-networking sites, as well as all of the major search engines and online travel agencies.

On-call advice – Not sure what to say to whom, when? We can help. We can provide journalist contacts and advice on how to give a press conference and what to say and what not to say.

Recovery

As relief activities progress into recovery efforts following a disaster, the focus shifts from saving lives, restoring power, and rebuilding shelter to economic recovery. It could be argued that the post-disaster marketing actually begins with information disseminated to the media, aid organizations and government agencies immediately after a disaster. The confidence of the market must be regained. The media, the industry and the public must be well informed as to the status of the destination’s resurgence, as well as any ongoing opportunities for visitors such as reduced rates or voluntourism projects.

Services for travel industry organizations in the recovery stage:

Information monitoring and information dissemination campaigns as described above in services for organizations in the emergency stage

Comprehensive push and pull marketing campaigns in key source markets directed at media, off-site brokers, voluntourists

Production and distribution of recovery video

Creation and distribution of recovery package(s) with other local businesses

Source Market/Airfare Matrix (understanding which source markets have the best airfare in real time)