In light of the recent extreme weather and flooding events across the UK this winter, Visit England released a practical guide for tourism businesses. Serious events not only impact directly on businesses, possibly causing some to cease trading entirely while they cope with the damage or disruption, but can also affect the attractiveness of a destination.
According to Visit England:
“Sensational images of flooding and storms stick in people’s minds far more easily than details of the specific locations that are actually experiencing these problems, resulting in confused consumers, false perceptions and potentially impact on future bookings”.
It is important that hotel businesses are then able to establish an accurate assessment of the situation and pass this information on to actual customers as well as potential customers on a regular basis. Having a simple communications plan is one of the steps your hotel can take to help manage the impact, for example. Other topics discussed in the guide include cancellation and refunds of bookings, as well as general information for government support to businesses. Visit England state:
“The aim of this plan is to provide practical guidance to help businesses affected by the extreme weather and flooding, create both an immediate and longer-term approach to communicating with their customers and signpost operators to further sources of support and advice, to help reduce the impact on their business”.
Download the full guide ‘Responding to extreme weather: A practical guide for tourism businesses – Winter 2014’
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