In Times of Crisis, Tour Ops Are Prepared

In these days of frequent natural disasters and political unrest, tour operators’ crisis management skills are a major concern for travel agents. After all, agents trust tour operators to care for their clients in both good times and bad.

Communicating with agents’ first – before contacting clients – is a crucial part of what tour operators do in the event of a crisis or major travel disruption, according to suppliers who shared their plans for handling crises with Travel Market Report.

That’s exactly what most agents want, and they gave tour operators high marks for keeping in touch, both before a client’s departure to a potential trouble spot and during a trip.

A step ahead
“Everyone has upped their game,” said Jennifer Wilson-Buttigieg of tour operators’ responses to political and natural crises that disrupt travel.

Wilson-Buttigieg, who is co-president and co-owner of New York-based Valerie Wilson Travel, said tour operators are handling crises effectively – before potential problems arise.

Tour operators are also being “pro-active” in tracking and keeping agents informed of current political environments, she said.

“Agents need to stay one step ahead [in a crisis], so we look to our tour operators, on-sites and DMCs. They are our eyes and ears on the ground.”

First contact
No doubt the 24/7 nature of today’s news reporting and the immediacy of social media have contributed to tour operators’ responsiveness, while sometimes altering their place in the communications chain.

“In our modern days of social media and connectivity, communication spreads extremely quickly,” said Paul Wiseman, president of Trafalgar.

“It’s often the case that we’re not the first to advise the agent because a client might be sitting on a coach calling loved ones or calling or emailing the agent.”

Today the tour operator isn’t always the primary communicator when situations arise , he said.

Plan of action
At Trafalgar, when a crisis or potential crisis occurs, the staff follows an incident management manual that outlines step-by-step actions for everyone in the company in the event of an incident, Wiseman said.

The company also calls for a “communications teams” to be formed in each country in which it operates. Trafalgar has 12 offices throughout the world.

Travel agents are contacted first. “We identify which customers are affected and who their agents are,” Wiseman said. “We communicate first with the specific agent and agency, by phone and then email, and secondly with the consortium heads.”

Defined roles
The Globus Family of Brands has “incident response teams” in each of its 32 offices worldwide, said Steve Born, vice president of marketing.

Team members have defined roles so that “when an issue occurs, it takes off the table any indecision on who’s doing what or how to get a hold of people,” Born said.

“Having that in place makes such a difference; there’s no need to re-invent the wheel every time something happens.”

A designated “incident manager” at the Globus operations office closest to the situation decides whether to re-route clients, change an itinerary or cut short a trip.

Globus’ policy is to notify clients’ agents first. However, Born said, “often, sometimes within the same day, we need and want to communicate to the customer; it could be something of urgency.

“If we can’t get in touch with the agent, then we’ll inform the agent we’re contacting their client directly and then follow-up with the agent.”

The all-important agent
At General Tours World Traveler, the communications policy is also agent first, said Robert Drumm, president. “The agent is the representative of that customer, and their position is all-important.

Still, depending on the nature of the situation and the need for speed, the company may need to contact clients directly.

A “concierge” in General Tours’ U.S. office is responsible for dealing with crises, and the firm’s five overseas offices are the “key point of contact,” Drumm said. Decisions on how to handle an incident are collaborative between the concierge and top management.

Next time: Agents and tour operators show their value in times of crisis.