Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
6
Tourism and public relations
A complex relationship?
Jacquie L'Etang and Jairo Lugo-Ocando
Introduction
No other economic activity is perhaps as dependent on reputation as tourism. Even after a year
of the so-called Arab Spring and the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the city of Cairo was already
showing a US$3bn decrease in tourism revenue alongside 32 per cent fewer visitors (Shenker
2012). The effects on employment, family life and even politics have been devastating considering
the fact that tourism had become over the past few decades one of the most important streams
of income for that country. However, Egypt is not alone in facing collateral effects from political
turmoil and social upheaval; many places around the world have also seen important changes in
their own tourism fl ows due to news affecting the reputation of these places. The Swiss tourist
who was gang-raped in India in 2013, China's regular outbreaks of avian fl u cases and crime
in New York and Miami, all made for issues that at some point deterred tourists from visiting
those places.
On the other side of the spectrum, some destinations have done remarkably well in turning
around their reputation as a tourism destination after years of civil wars, terrorism or cataclysmic
events. Colombia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Rwanda have many lessons to teach the world
about how to change impressions and perceptions regarding a tourism destination. In the
past few years, all of these places have managed to convince the public, or at least part of
the public, that they are safe, attractive and interesting to visit. Even war-torn and still very
dangerous Afghanistan has managed to attract a few tourists from the wealthy West (Nordland
2013). In all these cases, the concentrated effort to re-direct tourist fl ows back into these places
by changing their tourism-reputation has required actions that go beyond marketing and
advertising.
Public relations strategies to turn around the reputation in these places/destinations have
included lobbying, public diplomacy, media relations and the management of relational networks.
These efforts are set to foster and support tourism fl ows back, which has been achieved by
articulating a variety of individual actors, organizations and institutions in order to orchestrate
resources, efforts and set in motion certain dynamics. This is done despite the fact that sometimes
these actors and organisations not only do not have anything in common but that in some cases
they even represent competing or antagonistic interests. Under these circumstances, it takes a
