The reputation of a destination can come under fire when negative press and social media is circulated worldwide, making it more important than ever to monitor any coverage and for industry to be proactive in addressing any negative reports before too much damage occurs.
Recently, the Victoria Falls was under the global magnifying glass when British journalist Alex Crawford suggested in several tweets that the Falls were drying up.
Owner of the River Club in Livingston, Zambia, Peter Jones, wrote an open letter to Crawford – published in the Zimbabwean state-owned newspaper The Herald earlier this month – in which he states: “For those of us living at the Victoria Falls both in Zambia and Zimbabwe, we are picking up the pieces after your whirlwind of a visit to incorrectly inform the world that the mighty Victoria Falls was in danger of drying up.”
Peter went on to explain how the Falls were not dry and were following historic seasonal patterns. He condemned Crawford on her report and the impact it had on the tourism in the area. “Tourism is a very fragile industry and takes time to build up. It takes a single moment of violence to turn it upside down. And now your badly thought out, scantily researched idea that the Victoria Falls was somehow going to dry up will do the same,” said Peter.
Tourism Update spoke with director of travel marketing agency Big Ambitions, Natalia Rosa, to get her expertise on how destinations can recover their reputation when false or negative media hits. “When it comes to tourism crises, perception is reality and while it’s quick to stir up negative perceptions, it takes forever to counter them.
This especially, in a world where the former gatekeepers of information and news – journalists – are no longer the only gatekeepers,” said Natalia.
Rosa explained that that new information distribution methods like social media platforms and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp allow for information to be shared despite whether or not it is accurate, helpful or in context.
“A combination of crisis communications and powerful reputation management is what was required in the Victoria Falls case and, in fact, in with any tourism destination. In the absence of proper facts, people find ‘facts’ whether those are accurate or not,” said Natalia.
What should tourism stakeholders do in these circumstances? Natalia explains that destinations cannot be reactive with communication and reputation management.
“We should start monitoring media and social media to catch the flicker before it became a flame. It takes a long time to get all stakeholders aligned and singing from the same hymn sheet,” said Natalia.
“Once the damage is done, it takes a long time to turn the ship no matter what you do. A case in point is the Cape Town drought. Although industry and government came together fairly quickly to manage the communications after the Day Zero concept went global, there are markets that still believe there is a water crisis in Cape Town.”
“If I learnt anything in 2019 it was ‘control what you can control’. We may not be able to control the reduced rainfall or the fact that it’s going to be reported on – denying that it’s happening doesn’t make it go away. We can, however, ensure that equip travellers and media with the facts so that the crises are reported responsibly. That’s something every single stakeholder in the tourism sector has a responsibility to do,” said Natalia.
