Recovery Marketing

Tourism recovery after a natural disaster depends on the extent of damages, the efficiency with which facilities are brought back on-line, and the effectiveness of marketing to advertise the destination's status. Several valuable lessons can be learned from the way tourism partners reacted during the first critical months after Hurricane Iniki struck Hawaii: be flexible; plan for action; see the big picture; get the word out as soon as possible when you're open and ready for business; install a telephone hot line; keep members of the media informed; update travel agents and other travel partners on the status of the recovery effort; and make sure travel agents and the media get to see the extent of the recovery.