WebinarOnline
Building back better: Destination resilience, service experience and marketing in the face of crisis
Friday, 23 April 2027
A practical examination of destination recovery that connects preparedness, adaptive service and credible marketing, with particular attention to community priorities, vulnerable workers, transparent communication and the difference between resilience and a simple return to normal.
About this event
Crises can interrupt travel, damage infrastructure and unsettle the relationships on which destinations depend. Recovery is often measured through reopening dates and visitor numbers, but rebuilding offers a wider opportunity to address vulnerabilities that existed beforehand. This webinar examines destination resilience through the connected lenses of preparedness, service experience and responsible marketing before, during and after disruption.
The session will consider how destinations anticipate hazards, map dependencies and maintain essential capabilities under pressure. Resilience is not simply a return to previous conditions. Participants will explore how learning, adaptation and redundancy can protect communities while allowing tourism services to respond to changing needs. Attention will be given to workers and smaller enterprises whose limited reserves may make recovery particularly difficult.
Service design and communication shape public confidence during uncertain periods. The discussion will examine flexible processes, accessible information and coordination across the visitor journey. It will also ask how marketing can provide reassurance without minimising harm, exploiting distress or encouraging travel before local systems are ready. Credibility depends upon messages that reflect operational reality and community priorities.
Researchers, students, policy professionals and tourism practitioners will gain a practical framework for reviewing recovery choices. The webinar will ask whose resilience is strengthened, which risks remain and how progress should be monitored over time. Its aim is to support recovery strategies that improve preparedness, restore trust and create fairer conditions rather than recreating familiar patterns of exposure and exclusion. This perspective links immediate response with the slower institutional work required for lasting adaptation.