■ EXPERTS NUDGE TOURISM STAKEHOLDERS ON NEED TO FUTURE-PROOF THE INDUSTRY
Henry Teodoro Hernia, security and business continuity manager of Fluor Philippines, says that learning from the closure of Boracay Island, it is now necessary for tourism stakeholders to create and review their crisis management and business continuity plans, adding that it will prepare businesses for whatever challenges it will face.
The tourism industry of the Philippines is worth P2.85 trillion and failing to manage a crisis could lead to unhappy tourists and loss in revenues, say experts at a forum yesterday
Tourism stakeholders are encouraged to create their own crisis management and business continuity plans to future-proof the country’s trillion-peso industry.
Henry Teodoro Hernia, security and business continuity manager of Fluor Philippines, yesterday said the industry should learn from the crisis experienced in Boracay when it was closed by the government for six months.
“The challenge that Boracay is going through has affected livelihood and tourism receipts of the country,” said Hernia, during the Crisis Management Symposium hosted by the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 yesterday, adding that learning from the Boracay story, it is imperative for stakeholders now to create and review their crisis management and business continuity plans.
Hernia explained that having these plans in place will prepare the company to whatever challenge it will face, reducing the negative impact on jobs and revenues should untoward events happen. More importantly, it will also assure clients and guests of safety and security.
“Having no plan at all would be more costly,” he said.
Carlo Suarez, president of Hotels, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC), said 50 percent of the small properties under their organization don’t have crisis management plans.
This is the reason they will mount a two-day training before the end of the year to equip and guide the members of HRRAC in adopting a crisis management plan in their business operations.
“In today’s age, we are faced by a lot of threats which can make or break our business. It is important that all players know the basics of managing a crisis,” said Suarez. “We need to be at least prepared on the safety amd security aspect of the business.” Tourism players may need to hire consultants to help them craft their crisis management plans, whose professional rates hover from P40,000 to P45,000 per session.
However, Suarez said the consultation isn’t just a one-time session, as crafting of the program may take some time, especially that crisis management plans are tailor-fit to the needs of the company.
“This may burden them a bit. That’s why we will be mounting the training. The industry should at least be aware of the standard operating procedures,” he noted.
Once a crisis management plan has been crafted, a company may need to review it every three to six months to keep up with the changing times.
“We intend to come up a generic guide where small players can adopt or follow enough to get them on board the program. After all, we are an industry that deals with people,” said Suarez.
The country’s tourism industry is worth P2.85 trillion and contributed 19.7 percent in the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016. Last year, the industry contributed 23 percent to the GDP.
Judilyn Quiachon, supervising tourism officer of DOT 7, said the Philippines’ location is highly vulnerable to both man-made and natural threats and that if badly handled or managed, could easily result in unhappy customers and a drop in revenues.