'CrisisTether' helps tourism providers with fewer than 500 employees.
KITCHENER, ONTARIO – In what many may hail as a sign of the times, a crisis communications firm now has a solution that addresses one of the scariest problems for tourism providers – damaging headlines and bad publicity.
“The global tourism industry is a mess right now. Recent terror attacks have made consumers nervous. The US State Department has issued a nearly unprecedented, totally useless worldwide travel advisory,” says Checkmate Public Affairs President Jeff Chatterton. “We grew tired of seeing that suffering. So we created CrisisTether to make that expertise available to smaller operators, too.”
“Large tourism providers have resources to handle moments when things go wrong in a scary environment. But small tourism operators are forced to suffer with negative headlines, rumors, or angry stakeholders,” says Chatterton. “The global tourism environment is ugly and confusing.”
CrisisTether takes advantage of group purchasing, using a model similar to the mutual insurance industry. Hundreds of tour operators will band together and each pay a tiny monthly fee. Members get 24/7/365 access to a crisis communicator who is familiar with not only the travel industry, but also their unique business.
“In the tourism industry, things will go wrong. It’s not a case of ‘if,’ but ‘when.’ And when something goes wrong, whether it’s a terror attack, a vehicle accident, a volcanic eruption or a propane explosion, members receive immediate advice on what to say, to whom, and how. In the event of a truly serious situation, members can even choose to have a professional communications consultant fly to their operation, without additional fees,” he said.
For a small tourism provider, having this level of resource available to them is industry changing.
“The old way meant that when a crisis occurred, a small business owner needed to launch an expensive marketing campaign. Bookings would drop, and the owner merely hoped the business could survive. Hope is not a solution,” says Chatterton. “CrisisTether members will get world-class expertise right away, and won’t be charged a dime extra.”
“Our members know two things,” says Chatterton. “First – no matter what, we’ve got their back. Secondly, there are no hidden fees or invoice surprises.”
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
