The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is pleased to announce the launch of the PATA Crisis Resource Center Regional Training Materials for communication strategy, and destination marketing and management. The regional training kits were created with the support of the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM), a project implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
“The COVID-19 pandemic has evolved from its first detection in late 2019 to one of the most significant and existential threats to global travel and tourism. The damage to destinations and the businesses they supported has been unprecedented and no organization was prepared for a crisis of this magnitude,” said PATA CEO Dr. Mario Hardy. “In response to this, the PATA CRC Regional Training Materials were created to support all organisations by building capacity to support recovery efforts in the robust, and responsible renewal of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism Industry,”
The response of certain governments to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, has demonstrated the vital importance of communicating with clarity, authority and empathy in times of crisis. Elsewhere, other governments and political leaders have also shown that misleading, inconsistent or contradictory messaging will quickly undermine trust, sow confusion or dissent, and prolong the crisis.
The purpose of the communication training materials is therefore to help Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), and other components of the travel value chain to understand how to develop an integrated communication strategy which will support the recovery from COVID-19 by building credibility and trust among all affected stakeholders, including potential visitors.
While focused primarily on DMOs in the first instance, the principles and approaches suggested can be readily adapted to serve the needs of any business or organisation seeking to engage and influence key audiences as they consider how to recover from the crisis.
Learn How to Develop your Communication Strategy (crc.pata.org/tools/recovery-communications-training)
Consider the factors which may prevent effective communication
Map the relevant stakeholders
Determine the communication priorities
Consider the challenges posed by an “Always On” media landscape
Develop a key message framework
Assess the effectiveness of different communication channels
Understand how to assess and identify the right influencers
Furthermore, COVID-19 can not be treated as a simple crisis that could be managed and contained. This was a global phenomenon and has changed the world. Tourism can no longer be considered in isolation and has become linked to globalization, health, transportation and immigration process. To succeed in this environment needs planning that is data driven, informed and part of a broader strategy.
The training destination marketing materials are a base guide for destinations to work towards the creation of qualified adaptive recovery strategy to address three key phases:
React: Responding to and managing the current situation and initiate restarting travel
Rethink: Working in partnership with the trade to re-evaluate and prioritize products, markets and channels.
Rebuild: Shape a new strategy for a phased return to growth in the new global market
Learn How to Develop your Destination Marketing (crc.pata.org/tools/recovery-destination-marketing-training)
Hold online trade engagement and surveys to gain real-time intelligence
Establish protocols in agreement with the trade
Identify potential opportunities for the destination
Conduct a Triage based evaluation of Products, Channels, Airlines, Markets and
Demographics
Develop a portal with updated comprehensive destination information
Both training materials are now available on the PATA Crisis Resource Center website at https://crc.pata.org/.
