Richard Tauberman

Executive Vice President

MWW PR

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TOURISM AND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

August 29-30, 2016

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• Puerto Rico Tourism Industry was Stung

By Zika, Could it Happen in Miami

• Palm beach county tourism officials

monitoring Zika closely

• Florida tourism industry worries

about Zika impact

• No rebound for North Carolina tourism

after NBA pulls all-star game

• North Carolina could lose millions

from tourism with anti-LGBT bill

• Indiana in crisis mode after tourism

hit by religious bill

THE HEADLINES

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• Orlando tourist destinations start

summer on a sour note

• Will tourism decline in Orlando?

• As an international tourist destination,

Orlando copes with tragedies’

aftermath

• Tourism takes a hit due to

Baltimore riots

• Impact of Baltimore riots will be

costly, research suggests

• Days of unrest in April, months of

struggle for Baltimore tourism

THE HEADLINES

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THE HEADLINES• European tourism plunges after

Brussels and Paris terror attacks

• Terrorism scares away the tourists

Europe was counting on

• Global tourism takes massive hit

after spike in terror attacks

• Turkey tourism industry experiences worst

summer in 25 years amid terrorism and coup

• Nice attack is another hit to French

tourism industry

• Soft targets and tourist terrorism

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• CDC, New York City, Britain, Canada,

France and Germany warn tourist about

travel to Wynwood and Miami Beach

• 35 groups cancel Puerto Rico visit, equal

to 42,000 room nights

• Convention and meeting cancellations

in Baltimore after April 2015 riots

• Baltimore hotel occupancy down

17% in May 2015 and 10% in June 2015

• 20 conventions cancelled in

Charlotte after passage of HB 2

• Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam,

Mumford & Sons, Cyndi Lauper, Itzhak

Perlman and Cirque de Soleil cancel

North Carolina performances after HB2

• NBA pulls All-Star game from

Charlotte, $100m economic impact seen

• Indiana lost 12 conventions and took

$60m hit after enactment of Religious

Freedom Restoration Act

• United Kingdom foreign office

issues warning for LGBT visitors to

North Carolina and Mississippi

THE RESULTS

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THE RESULTS• Nice cancellations up 20% after attack,

Paris occupancy down over 20%

• Travel spending in France down 18%

in June 2016 from June 2015

• International visitor numbers

to France down 20% in five months

after Paris attack

• Paris tourism drops 1 million in

1H2016, loss of over $700 million in

revenue

• Global tourism spending down 15%

in June 2016 from June 2015

• 86% of Americans fearful of attack

while on holiday

–Over 55 years old most scared

–Millennials most concerned about

attacks in United States and Canada

• American travel to Brussels, France

and Turkey down considerably

• Experts predict Orlando tourism will

fall by 5% - 15% after Pulse shootings

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RESPONSE FROM TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS

• Puerto Rico Travel Company is working with Centers for Disease Control and Hotel

& Tourism Association to educate travelers about Zika, how to follow CDC guidelines

and showcase how hotels are aggressively addressing situation

• Visit Orlando uses website and social media to express sympathy for Pulse shootings,

delivers regular updates on situation and provide link for donations to One Orlando

Fund. Also now has a link to Safety Information on its home page

• Brussels launches “Call Brussels” campaign linking tourists to local residents

• Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority launches “Always Welcome” initiative

• Explore St. Louis partners with City of St. Louis to develop STLforward.com

to educate local residents and visitors about how the city was progressing

• Visit Baltimore produces Q&A videos in immediate aftermath of riots directly

addressing protests, impact on city and progress to “safe and open for business”

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WHAT THERESEARCH SHOWSACCORDING TO A STUDY BY THE WORLD TRAVEL

AND TOURISM COUNCIL IT TAKES TOURISM:

• 13 months to recover from a terrorist attack

• 21 months to recover from disease outbreak

• 24 months to recover from a environmental disaster

• 27 month to recover from political unrest

Natural disasters often take even longer due to

rebuilding of infrastructure

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WHAT CRISES CAN IMPACT TOURISM ORGANIZATIONS

• Terrorism/terrorism threat

• Natural disasters – hurricane, tornado, earthquake

• Plane, train or bus crashes – airport, transportation closures

• Criminal acts/crimes against tourists – civil unrest, police incidents

• Government/regulatory policies

• Health issues – i.e Zika, Ebola

• Environmental issues – oil/chemical spill, water/air quality

• Labor/activist campaigns – demonstrations, issues

• Cybersecurity

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THE NEW CRISIS MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE

THE WAY

STAKEHOLDERS

RECEIVE AND

SHARE NEWS AND

INFORMATION HAS

CHANGED

MAINSTREAM

MEDIA TURNS TO

FAST-MOVING

SOCIAL

CONVERSATION

TO SOURCE

STORIES

CONTENT CAN

ORIGINATE FROM

ANY SOURCE—

NO MATTER ITS

ACCURACY OR

LACK OF CONTEXT

WITH INCREASED

TRANSPARENCY

COMES

INCREASED

EXPECTATIONS

OF AN

ORGANIZATION

DIGITAL

COMMUNICATION

PRESENTS BOTH

RISKS AND

OPPORTUNITIES IN

A CRISIS SITUATION

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0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

15-Jul-16 22-Jul-16 29-Jul-16 5-Aug-16 12-Aug-16 19-Aug-16

THERE HAVE BEEN OVER 20,000 TWEETS RELATED TO

TRAVEL/TOURISM AND THE ZIKA VIRUS IN FLORIDA IN THE

LAST MONTHSocial Media Conversation Trend:July 15, 2016 - August 23, 2016

Socia

l m

edia

mentions

August 1: CDC issues Zika

travel advisory for Miami area

*Based on social conversation from July 15, 2016 - August 23, 2016; Source: Sysomos

August 19: New Zika

Outbreak Hits Popular

Tourist Destination Of

Miami Beach

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Positive/Neutral Negative

95% OF ORGANIC SOCIAL

MEDIA CONVERSATION IS

NEGATIVE

Social Media Conversation Trend:July 15, 2016 - August 23, 2016

Socia

l m

edia

mentions

95%

Negative conversation includes:

• Florida natives concerned about the

virus and travelers who are

there/have been there

• Travelers who are cancelling or

considering cancelling traveling

plans following the multiple CDC

travel advisories

*Based on social conversation from July 15, 2016 - August 23, 2016; Source: Sysomos

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INFLUENCERS JOINING

THE CONVERSATION IN

SOCIAL MEDIA INCLUDE

TOP NEWS SOURCES,

NGOS & CELEBRITIES

*Based on social conversation from July 15, 2016 - August 23, 2016; Source: Sysomos

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GUIDING PRINCIPLES/RESPONSE APPROACH

• Ensure the safety of tourists and hospitality workers

• Gather as many facts as possible to assess and determine/develop

response to the situation

• Communicate promptly, honestly and accurately to all constituencies

• Protect against/counter misinformation, speculation, rumors

• Coordinate communications with local government officials,

first responders and investigative agencies and others as needed

• Seek to minimize the negative impact on tourism and community

• Stay true to organization’s culture, philosophy and communications objectives

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• Decision making on a response, messaging and vehicles, consults key leaders

in organization – and outside experts as needed (legal, PR/advertising, etc.)

• Tier response to level of incident and impact on stakeholders

– Proactive/reactive, vehicle, statement/interview

• Stay in your lane – understand roles of officials, first responders, partners

• Consult, coordinate with and regularly update key constituencies

• Review other communications and advertising out in public and consider

pulling it down if necessary

• Monitor media/social media for conversation/reaction to gauge need for

changes to messaging and actions

GUIDING PRINCIPLES/RESPONSE APPROACH

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DE-BUNKING CRISIS MANAGEMENT MYTHS

THE CEO IS YOUR BEST SPOKESPERSON

Crisis 2.0:

• Keep your powder dry, and preserve ability to escalate

• Power of third parties

ALWAYS RESPOND, AND RESPOND IN THE FIRST HOUR

Crisis 2.0:

• 60 seconds is the new first hour, and not everything warrants a response

MEDIA IS THE ULTIMATE INFLUENCER

Crisis 2.0:

• Social conversation can matter more than headlines

• More than 75% of Americans receive breaking news from social media, rather than from traditional sources.

• 42% of U.S. adults get most of their news from friends and family via Facebook and the vast majority of them (87%) follow links to full news stories.

• 86% of all adults are online, for an average of 5 hours per day, surpassing TV.

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MEDIA IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT’S ONLY ONE COMPONENT

It’s About

Communicating

to a Full Range

of Stakeholders

MEDIA

EMPLOYEES

BUSINESS PARTNERS

ANALYSTS

TOURISTS$

CLIENTS

ACTIVISTS

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

THIRD-PARTY INFLUENCERS

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LIFE CYCLE OF TYPICAL CRISISRESPONSE

CONTAIN

CORRECT

RECOVER

REHABILITATE

• Short term, immediate responses

• Define & contain the issue

• Pre-empt influentials and “quote-meisters”

• Establish escalation triggers

• Truth squad

• Media escalation strategy

• Establish experts/third party activation

• Tone and context

• Change/expand the narrative

• Social media amplification

• Know when to “cease & desist”

• Proactive story generation

• Thought Leadership

• Next Steps

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WHAT SHOULD ORGANIZATIONS DO

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CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAYBOOK

• Vulnerability assessments

• Crisis plan/protocol development

• Dark website development

and activation

• Spokesperson evaluation, training

and stand-in

• Creation of media/social

media policies

• War-room organization and management

• Cultivation, engagement and

coordination with third-parties

• Go-team/onsite crisis response

• Message development and positioning

• Preparation of template responses,

news statements, Q&As, fact sheets,

press releases, statements, etc.

• Employee/stakeholder engagement

• Real-time media/social media

monitoring and analysis

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PREPARATION AND PLANNINGSTEP 1: VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT/DUE DILIGENCE

Thorough analysis of business and industry to determine potential issues from operations, IP and human capital; review current state of play

• Interview key internal/external stakeholders

• Outline most likely potential crisis scenarios

• Set out initial response protocols

• Determine if Crisis Communications Team, outside resources needed

• Identify prospective spokespersons – external and internal

• Detail crisis communications logistics needed

• List of recommended proactive crisis mitigation activities

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STEP 2: CRISIS PLAN DEVELOPMENT/UPDATE

• After consensus on Vulnerability Assessment findings/recommendations, develop crisis communications plan that is comprehensive, adaptable and updateable:

• Identification of crisis determinants and levels

• Creation of core/full crisis communications teams – roles/responsibilities

• Development of template holding/standby statements, press releases

• Establishment of news/social media monitoring procedures and protocols for dealing with media/social media in event of crisis

• Reinforcement of media/social media policies for employees

• Coordination with customers and business partners

• Contact info for key stakeholders, outside experts and third party endorsers

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

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STEP 3: CRISIS PLAN WALK-THROUGH AND TRAINING

Provide familiarization with plan, protocols and roles, and conduct simulation to gauge plan and team effectiveness:

• Discuss crisis management and key audiences – importance of comprehensive and cohesive response to protect reputation, people, business and bottom line

• Review of any recent crisis situations – what worked/what did not

• Outline of crisis team structure, roles, procedures, tools

• Discuss media/social media engagement and rules of the road

• Provide crisis simulation scenario and engage crisis team In table top exercise

• Development of key messages and communications materials

• Conduct outreach to key stakeholders and mock media interviews

• Evaluate response and determine key learnings/takeaways

PREPARATION AND PLANNING

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CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN OF ACTION• Messaging, outreach and communication with

internal & external stakeholders

• Close coordination with government/community officials,

business partners, advisors and outside experts

• Demonstration of care, concern and achieving solutions

• Real-time, corrective measures to rectify false, harmful

and defamatory information

• Preservation of good will and reputation

• Short-term/long-term plan to mitigate consequences

and restore of tourism