by

Disaster Preparedness in the Thai Hospitality Industry

On behalf of Anika Malhotra:

Disaster Preparedness in the Thai Hospitality Industry

One of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, resulted in the deaths of over 230,000 people in fourteen countries and provoked worldwide humanitarian efforts which led to the donation of over USD$14B in aid. Of these fourteen countries, Thailand was one of those that were hardest hit with an estimated 8,212 death toll.

The two industries that were greatly impacted by this disaster were the fishing and tourism industries. The destruction of industrial infrastructure in coastal areas within the fishing industry had substantial impacts both on regional and national scales, affecting employment in coastal regions and foreign exchange earnings on a national level.

 

With these direct effects of the tsunami, came indirect effects within the hospitality industry. As investigations into the disaster continued, there was speculation that many of the resort hotels directly hit by the tsunami did not alert guests in a timely fashion and that staff were not well equipped to handle such situations. Moreover, regardless of whether tourist’s travel destinations were affected or not, there was a psychological concern and fear for their safety while traveling in areas of this part of the world. The hospitality industry was then hit with numerous cancellations as a result.

 

Tourist’s concerns and trip cancellations created a negative image of the hospitality industry for their lack of disaster preparedness. As the industry began to fear that this negative impact might be long lasting, many hospitality companies joined forces with humanitarian organizations to develop stronger disaster preparedness, recovery, and risk mitigating skills.

 

Addressing issues of crisis management and providing hospitality employees with the necessary skills involved gives these companies a competitive advantage. The first step in these efforts is focused on pre-crisis communication. The thought here is that communicating more effectively and implementing solutions for these situations will help rebuild trust and credibility from the public’s perspective.

 

Rather than a focus on maximizing profits for shareholders, there has been an increased focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the hospitality industry. Although brand reputation and financial factors still play a major role in the decision making process for tourists and potential employees, they are looking more for companies who contribute to more wide-ranging societal goals. These CSR contributions are often in the form of cash donations, work force initiatives, partnerships with NGO’s, and by providing shelter and evacuation. The top 3 hotel companies in the industry that are most contributing to this reform are Hilton, Marriott, and Accor.

 

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, The International Federation of Red Cross and Societies, and other NGO’s, as well as those in the Thai private sector formed partnerships with these hospitality companies to train employees and provide assistance and funding in these efforts to rebuild the economy in Thailand. The Tsunami Victim Relief Center was also founded days after the tsunami to help in mobilization efforts. The Royal Thai Government (RTG) has also been greatly praised for their role in providing support to the affected communities. The United Nations Country Team along with bilateral development agencies worked with the RTG to address issues and challenges in the rebuilding effort.

 

The efforts of these organizations in collaboration with hotel companies and educational efforts proved to help tremendously towards rebuilding the hospitality industry in Thailand. Below can be found the Tourism and Earnings Growth in Thailand chart as of one year after the tsunami (2005):

The above chart proves that not even fully into 2005, in Q2, there was shown a significant positive change in the percentage of tourism earnings in one year from

-6.2 to +4.4 in growth.

 

The monsoon season in Thailand in 2011 was a period in which was demonstrated how far humanitarian aid efforts and disaster preparedness have improved since the tsunami disaster in 2004. As a result of the storms during this time, flooding began to spread throughout the Northern, Northeastern, and Central areas of Thailand. These floods resulted in the deaths of 815 people, with a total of 13.6 million people having been affected by the same. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) projected a combined loss of USD$825M as a result of reduced international and national tourism, with people having cancelled their trips to the region.

 

Hotels in and around the affected areas in Thailand began to take measures to ensure the safety of their guests, and help with the relief efforts of the surrounding community. The Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok organized a thorough workshop for more than 1,000 of its staff members to drill them in how to manage the flood situation. The Shangri-La Hotel also took precautionary measures during this time by placing sandbags outside of the property in an effort to prevent water from flowing into the property and by storing enough food and medical supplies for their guests and staff to last three days in the case of an emergency situation.

More major hotel companies are doing their part to help with disaster relief in other ways:

 

a)    Marriott International converts points donated by guests into cash for contribution to the IFRC Disaster Relief Emergency Fund.

b)    Hyatt has developed a volunteer outreach program, Hyatt F.O.R.C.E- allowing for employees to provide local and worldwide support on company paid time.

c)     Hilton Honors has implemented a charity titled “Blanket them With Love” to help with the after effects of the 2011 floods in Thailand. “The project will provide 1) immediate relief to victims by giving emergency life packs (includes food and other daily necessities) to evacuees, 2) 700 financially needy families affected by the coming 4 months of cold weather with blankets, so that the most vulnerable targets like young children and elderly will be protected from diseases associated with the cold climate. 3) Help to at least 10 affected homes with repairs after the floods, so that the family go back to safe shelters.”

d)    AirAsiaGo had absorbed the cost of credit card transaction fees on their website for one month from October-November 2011. In addition to this, they worked with local hotels in Bangkok to provide discounts to travelers.

e)    As part of their CSR initiative, Hilton Pattaya donated 100,000 baht to the Rotary Club of Taksin Pattaya to help with relief and rehabilitation projects for the aid of those affected by the floods in Thailand.

In order to help with the rebuilding efforts after the floods, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has implemented a communication center that will keep event organizers updated as to the status of their future events, one such event being the annual Royal Flora Expo.

 

It is made evident to us that the efforts made for disaster preparedness by the hospitality industry in Thailand and throughout the world will help in reducing financial and emotional burdens of many of those affected by such natural disasters as the 2004 tsunami and 2011 floods. Whether it is by partnering with NGO’s or companies within the private sector to help provide employees and their families the skills needed to help mitigate the outcome of such disasters, by providing direct financial support, by sending its employees on volunteer efforts within the community or worldwide, or by providing food and shelter to those affected, the hospitality industry in Thailand is helping to rebuild security and lessen the fears of travelers worldwide.

 

 

15,898 thoughts on “Disaster Preparedness in the Thai Hospitality Industry”

  2. Good Post, I am a big believer in placing comments on weblogs to let the blog writers know that they added something advantageous to the world wide web! Make 1M

  5. Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I am happy to find a lot of useful info here in the post, we need develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . . Make 1M

  6. Valuable information. Lucky me I found your site by accident, and I am shocked why this accident did not happened earlier! I bookmarked it. Make 1M

  7. There are incredibly plenty of details this way to take into consideration. Which is a wonderful examine mention. I supply the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly you’ll find questions like the one you retrieve the spot that the most critical thing is going to be doing work in honest excellent faith. I don?t determine if recommendations have emerged about such things as that, but Most likely that the job is clearly recognized as a reasonable game. Both girls and boys feel the impact of simply a moment’s pleasure, through-out their lives. Make 1M

  9. I think other web-site proprietors should take this web site as an model – very clean and wonderful style and design, as well as the content. You’re an expert in this topic! Make 1M

  10. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me. slot-gate.net

  12. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me. muktimall.net

  13. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me. adult-content.org

  14. Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you aided me. 유흥 광고

  16. I am frequently to blogging we really appreciate your website content continuously. The article has really peaks my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking achievable info. 먹튀사이트 검색

  17. I am frequently to blogging we really appreciate your website content continuously. The article has really peaks my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking achievable info. 캄보디아 밤문화

  18. I am frequently to blogging we really appreciate your website content continuously. The article has really peaks my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking achievable info. asia-nightlife.com

  19. I am frequently to blogging we really appreciate your website content continuously. The article has really peaks my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking achievable info. asia-nightlife.com

  20. I am frequently to blogging we really appreciate your website content continuously. The article has really peaks my interest. I will bookmark your site and keep checking achievable info. 유흥 광고

  21. I felt compelled to share my positive experience with CIPHER BLADE RECOVERY as it exceeded all my expectations. They are undoubtedly a trusted partner in the field of bitcoin recovery and can provide invaluable legal advice on how to proceed in similar situations. Therefore, I highly recommend reaching out to them if you find yourself in need of assistance or guidance. Claves ESET Internet Security de licencia

  22. This blog provides valuable insights! The content is well-written, engaging, and highly informative. Looking forward to more posts! hks188

  23. Kepala Bergetar 9 is malay television website to watch dramas and tv series videos free.
    Malay Dramas provides various aspects of life and emotions scenes in recent dramas hd…

    Kepala Bergetar

  24. Dfm2u provides Kepala Bergetar and myflm4u is a Malaysian online streaming websites
    to watch Malaysian dramas and tv shows online free daily basis at tv3 and astro ria.

    Dfm2u

  25. I’m just commenting to let you know what a excellent discovery my cousin’s girl encountered going through your web site. She noticed several details, which include how it is like to possess an ideal coaching spirit to let others smoothly learn a number of grueling subject areas. You actually did more than visitors’ desires. Thank you for distributing these great, dependable, informative and unique tips on that topic to Tanya. slot88

  27. My recent experience with CyberGenieHackPro through Telegram stands out as the highlight of my life. I hit a major low point in my personal and professional life. I suffered a significant setback in my business after foolishly putting all my faith in a crypto platform I was completely unfamiliar with. I was tricked into investing in what seemed like shares of tech giants like Meta platforms and Tesla. It all began with a small investment, but as my crypto investments grew, I was astounded by my profits, which encouraged me to invest more. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. I had only put $504,000 at risk, and my return on investment was already in the millions of dollars. Their responses to my emails became increasingly distant as I started to initiate a withdrawal to use my funds, and that’s when it hit me, all of this was part of a sophisticated crypto scam, and I had been duped. I refuse to let this fraudster ruin my life. I have lived my life with integrity and hard work, and I won’t let some dishonest individual take advantage of me. I reached out to a few friends in law enforcement, but they all said the same thing: it would take a long time to track down these scammers, and I didn’t have the patience for that. I decided to take matters into my own hands and came across a group of exceptional cyber security and ethical hacking experts, Cyber Genie Hack Pro. After several sessions, I was convinced they were the right team to help me recover my stolen investment. Their skills and determination were clear as they worked through the complexities of blockchain transactions and cryptocurrency protocols penetrating these scammer’s systems. Their exceptional abilities throughout the process were impressive, and I was able to reclaim my stolen funds in just 13 hours instead of the 8 hours they had promised. They successfully recovered my funds. The feeling of relief, trust, and hope I experienced working with Cyber Genie Hack Pro was incredible, and that’s what the world needs more of. Once a victim, Cyber Genie Hack Pro turned my situation around, and I am now a winner. I want to express my sincere gratitude to the Cyber Genie Hack Pro team for their outstanding work. Don’t believe that crypto coins sent out can’t be retrieved, Act fast, Act Now, Act with Cyber Genie Hack Pro, and I guarantee you a successful recovery. Consult their help desk via:
    https://cyber-genie-hackpro.info/
    Telegram, (CyberGenieHackPro)
    MAIL, Cyber genie (@) cyberservices (.) com

  28. Hello everyone, am so grateful to have known this reliable internet hacker, contact him for all hacking jobs, account recovery and funds wire transfer and recovery, hacker email is (hack4net8@gmail .com) you can tell him I referred you.

  39. Topbandar adalah situs Slot Sbobet link judi bola gampang maxwin no 1 di Indonesia kini hadir dengan sejuta pengalaman professional di dunia judi online. Link Slot Sbobet sering kali memberikan kemenangan besar hingga jackpot maxwin pada pertandingan bola buruan daftar sekarang juga hanya minimal deposit sebesar 10 ribu kalian sudah bisa bermain di situs Slot Sbobet terbaik tahun 2024. Situs Topbandar siap memberikan berbagai bentuk pelayanan ataupun fasilitas terbaik buat lebih memanjakan para member dalam proses pendaftaran maupun transaksi deposit dan withdraw. https://rockitnapptural.com/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *