Title: Crisis planning among tour operators: an evaluation of small, medium-sized and large enterprises

Authors: Christin Khardani; Jürgen Schmude; Philipp Namberger

Addresses: Department of Economic Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstreet 37, 80333 Munich, Germany ' Department of Economic Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstreet 37, 80333 Munich, Germany ' Department of Economic Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Luisenstreet 37, 80333 Munich, Germany

Abstract: The worldwide shutdown of borders during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019 has shown that crisis management in tourism is essential for all stakeholders and has put crisis management of tour operators in a public spotlight. Currently, there is little research on crisis management strategies of tour operators. An exploratory analysis of empirically collected data aimed at determining the current level of crisis planning among German tour operators reveals that although tour operators feel prepared for a crisis, the level of crisis planning is low. This is particularly the case for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which dominate the market. This paper therefore suggests a code of conduct to establish a minimum standard in crisis management for the industry. The findings show that the managers' attitude towards such a code of conduct is neutral. A higher level of involvement from official institutions to support SMEs in their crisis management is recommended.

Keywords: crisis and disaster management; crisis preparedness; crisis planning; code of conduct; evaluation of tour operators; SMEs; small and medium-sized companies; package travel; safety; certification in tourism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTP.2024.137162

International Journal of Tourism Policy, 2024 Vol.14 No.2, pp.207 - 221

Received: 22 Mar 2023
Accepted: 29 Aug 2023
Published online: 04 Mar 2024 *

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