Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism

The Single Market Programme-backed “Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism” project aimed at strengthening the EU tourism ecosystem resilience by improving its governance and mechanisms for resisting, managing, and mitigating future crises. 

The COVID-19 outbreak has paralysed the EU tourism sector, putting its ecosystem under unprecedented pressure and revealing weaknesses in the ecosystem’s crisis management capacity. Other smaller, shorter, or more localised disruptions (e.g., the War in Ukraine, climate change) had already shown how deeply national or international crises impact the tourism ecosystem and unveiled some of the shortcomings of its governance system.

In light of this current context and in line with the EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism 2020-2038, it is important to create crisis management mechanisms to ensure that the tourism sector is adequately prepared for future crises, as well as to support the tourism ecosystem by sharing best practices for crisis management and preparedness.

55 selected service beneficiaries from 21 countries received advisory support and developed action plans to enhance their resilience and crisis preparedness. These beneficiaries included tourism organisations at various levels – national, regional, and local – ranging from National Tourism Authorities to Destination Management Organisations and Industry Associations, each with unique profiles and responsibilities.

The project produced several deliverables which remain relevant for tourism stakeholders.

Best Practices: Discover exemplary governance strategies and crisis preparedness and data deployment actions.

Policy Recommendations: Explore their recommendation for the tourism ecosystem.

eLearning Journey: Access the first six modules of the training materials through the EU Academy to enhance your crisis preparedness management skills and expertise. More modules coming soon!

Stay tuned for the publication of the project’s Final Report which will help you unlock the full potential of these findings.

The project produced several elements as part of its promotional material: 

• a promotional video, 
• a flyer (in all 24 EU official languages), 
• success stories and testimonials.

Stay tuned for their publication!

More info about the project’s activities

The Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism project was funded under the SME Pillar of the Single Market Programme.

In response to the ever-evolving challenges within the tourism ecosystem, the project was structured in three key stages aimed at strengthening governance models and enhancing resilience against crises.

Stage 1: Analysis of governance models and crisis management mechanisms in the tourism ecosystem

The project delved into the impact different crisis events had on tourism ecosystem to identify vulnerabilities and understand relevant aspects of governance structures and processes and how they can be complemented with better mechanisms.  

Stage 2: Assisting tourism authorities and sectors to improve tourism governance and resilience

The project worked side by side with destinations and cross-border professional associations, with carefully selected tourism experts, providing advisory services to enhance these organisations capacity for crisis prevention, management, and mitigation, leveraging on the developed guidance and collaboration materials.

Stage 3: Best practices and learning materials

Building on the knowledge developed in previous stages, the project compiled actionable recommendations and best practices. In addition, it created accessible and user-friendly learning materials designed to enhance resilience and crisis response skills across the tourism ecosystem.