Review article
Digital crisis communication in tourism – a case study of the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption
Valentina Pervan
orcid.org/0009-0005-5516-6950
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Fakultet političkih znanosti, Hrvatska
Hrvoje Jakopović
orcid.org/0000-0002-9846-9952
; Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Fakultet političkih znanosti, Hrvatska
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide answers to a key question in crisis situations related
to tourism, namely, how to manage crisis communication due to natural disasters.
For this purpose, the more recent case of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano was
chosen. The authors investigated how the tourist board of La Palma managed crisis communication.
Considering the sensitivity of tourism, it is important to skilfully manage
crisis communication and thereby reduce the harmful consequences of crisis.
Within the case study of the Cumbre Vieja volcano eruption, the content of posts of the
tourist board of La Palma on Twitter during the crisis period was analysed. The research
was conducted on a sample of 307 posts in Spanish and English language found on the
official Twitter profile of the La Palma tourist board. The research results showed that the
tourist board of La Palma intensified its communication with Twitter users in the acute
phase of the volcano eruption crisis, and their key messages during the communication
of the crisis were targeted and simple. Additionally, the research has shown the importance
of having a defined crisis communication strategy in advance to effectively respond
to unforeseen situations. The analysis shows that social networking sites have become
indispensable channels for communication and building trust during crisis. This study
highlights a few important aspects of managing crisis communication in tourism and contributes
to understanding the significance of communication in preserving the reputation
of a tourist destination during the crisis.
Keywords
crisis communication, tourism, Cumbre Vieja, natural disasters
Hrčak ID:
318001
URI
Publication date:
18.6.2024.
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