Crisis Management Days

Integrating crisis management into sustainable destination governance: A review framework for strengthening tourism resilience in Zagreb County

Ivana Alilović

University of Applied Sciences Velika Gorica

Keywords: tourism resiliency, crisis management, tourism destination governance, sustainable development, adaptation to climate change

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Abstract

This review paper explores how science and policy efforts in tourism resilience and crisis management could help achieve implementation of the Destination Management Plan for the area of Zagreb County until 2028. Contemporary tourism destinations are facing an increasing number of extreme weather events, climate-related disturbances, health crises, travel disruptions, technology failures and brands being damaged. For that reason, tourism governance cannot be relied upon simply as a developmental function but should also encompass a framework of readiness, coordination, response, recovery, learning and adaptation. The paper is a review of the most current academic literature and selected policy instruments that relate to tourism crisis management in conjunction with the Destination Management Plan for the area of Zagreb County until 2028 as the principal strategy for understanding these issues. The study is organized under six thematic topics: governing and managing tourism destinations; broadening functional understanding of the tourism industry; clarifying destination planning criteria; systemic relationships among tourism stakeholders; effective crisis communication; and finding ways to adapt to climate change. The major conclusions are: effective governance of tourism destinations requires building resilient tourism destinations; building resilient Tourism Destinations (TD) is an integral function of sustainable (community) development; the successful management of crises in tourism destinations relies on an integrated planning process; the successful management of crises requires the participation of multiple jurisdictional levels; and effective management requires the establishment of a process for defining and agreeing upon appropriate stakeholder and community responses (protocols for crisis communication; data supported decision-making processes; and continuous monitoring and follow-up). The study concludes that the current Destination Development Plan for Zagreb County serves as a good foundation for tourism development efforts that are oriented towards resiliency; however, is missing elements of crisis-management principles, methods of risk preparedness, stakeholder management, and monitoring mechanisms for resiliency development.

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