Post-disaster Market Recovery

Marketing a destination after a disaster is very complex. Often, people have died in the disaster and sometimes, as was the case in the Indian Ocean tsunami, the death toll runs into the hundreds of thousands. The survivors must have time to mourn their losses, as well as clean up and rebuild their destination before tourists can return. However, too much time before tourists return could create another disaster by depriving an area of its primary industry, as was the case in Thailand’s Andaman Sea Region after the tsunami. Some people argued over the propriety of visiting destinations impacted by the disaster; in this debate, two camps quickly emerged: those who believed traveling to tsunami-stricken areas was insensitive to grieving communities, and those pleading for tourists to return to tsunami-stricken areas, so that the communities would not be further devastated by an escalating economic crisis. Beirman (2003) explains that successful marketing of tourism destinations recovering from crisis requires achieving a balance between pull marketing (appealing directly to consumers) and push marketing (appealing to those who sell travel in a manner that will encourage them to sell a specific destination).

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 during and immediately after a disaster. In order to ensure that recovery from a disaster can occur as rapidly as possible, the confidence of the market must be regained. To achieve this goal, the recovery process must be broadcast widely through constructive and optimistic media coverage, and the travel industry needs to 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 (Bierman, 2003). This strategy should be stepped up in the period immediately following the ‘end’ of the crisis, which Beirman (2003) refers to as the intensive phase, with discounts, value-added packages, and prizes offered as incentives to lure travelers back to the destination. The more creative and enticing the incentives are, the more allure and urgency will be created in the eyes of the media, and the consumer (Beirman, 2003).

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Post-disaster Market Recovery