BRIDGETOWN,
Barbados -- A class in crisis communications for the tourism
industry will be one of the highlights at the 28th annual Caribbean
Tourism Conference (CTC-28) at Frenchmans Reef & Morning Star
Marriott Beach Resort in St. Thomas Oct. 21 to 26, sponsored by the
Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO).
Barry Pitegoff,
vice president of research for Visit Florida, will focus on how to
use research to craft a credible message following a
crisis.
Florida and the
Caribbean have a lot in common and we face some of the same
challenges when it comes to disasters, Pitegoff said.
His class will
focus on these challenges and the process of figuring out what to
say, to whom and when following a crisis.
The market needs
an honest and credible knowledge of the rate at which the product
is coming back and how good the product really is, Pitegoff said.
There is a real need to assuage the worries and concerns of
different groups, including consumers.
Pitegoff, who has
directed the research program for Floridas tourism for 25 years,
led the research that determined Visit Floridas message in the wake
of the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. and after the four hurricanes
that hit Florida last year.
Pitegoffs class
on crisis communications will examine some of the crises that the
Caribbean has faced in recent years, including natural disasters
and crime and how the communication was handled. The class also
will examine why the media seem obsessed with certain
events.
This class is an
opportunity for delegates to gain insight into this critical aspect
of tourism communications, said Hugh Riley, CTOs marketing director
for the Americas. How we respond to crisis situations is critical
in having the world continue to view the Caribbean as a place to
come and vacation. It is essential to communicate the message
correctly.
Information on
CTC-28, including how to register, can be found at www.onecaribbean.org.
To contact
the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Gay Nagle Myers
at [email protected].