An Investigation of Stakeholders’ Strategies for External Crisis Preparedness: Perspectives of Tourism Industry Stakeholder in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Based on the collective realisation that destinations and organisations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to external crises which can negatively impact on the tourism sectors of economies, this article evaluated the strategies that stakeholders utilised towards effective preparedness for external crisis related incidents. The study employed a qualitative case study approach, using interviews and available documents in exploring the crisis preparedness strategies employed by stakeholders in the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria towards addressing the impact of external crisis incidents and threats on their destinations’ tourism industry and subsectors. The study’s field research was based on semi structured interview sessions, covering core questions and probes on the stakeholders’ preparedness for external crises that can affect their tourism sectors, and if there are factors that can affect their efforts towards preparedness for identified crises. The results from the interviews and discussion of findings based on emergent themes from the studies identified a range of recommendations for the study’s destination stakeholders, who were mostly found to be deficient in appropriate crisis preparedness measures, owing to in adequate resources from government, and in some instances, lack of efficient crisis preparedness plan. Of these recommendations, one of the key suggestions was for stakeholders of the city of Jos, Nigeria and similar destination(s) and organisations to adopt or develop a formal crisis preparedness plan, and complete risk assessment on their destination, and other places that could be vulnerable to external crises, for effective crisis preparedness.

Analysis of Stakeholders Perceptions of The Impact of Crisis on Tourism in Ogun State, Nigeria

“…The effect of any of these crises could lead to cancellations of bookings on airlines, trains, cruises, and hotels (Nicola et al, 2020;Sultana et al, 2020). Consequently, crises can have ripple effects on tourism businesses in terms of a decline in revenue generation, loss of jobs, business closures, and a decline in other socioeconomic activities at affected destinations (Majebi, 2021;Nicola et al, 2020;Senbeto, 2022;Sultana et al, 2020). As tourism remains a major contributor to destinations' socioeconomic development (Ajudua et al, 2022;Ajudua et al, 2021;Amalu et al, 2018;Manzoor et al, 2019;Trusova et al, 2020), crises that can impact the industry demand appropriate collaborative measures among a wide range of stakeholders in identifying and reducing its impact and perhaps preventing its recurrence.…”

“…Several extant studies in tourism have investigated the impacts and responses to crises associated with terrorism, political, economic, and health-induced factors, including the COVID-19 Pandemic (Karl et al, 2020;Nicola et al, 2020;Lado-Sestayo et al, 2016;Samitas et al, 2018;Senbeto, 2022). However, knowledge and scholarship in crisis and crisis management are limited in the field of tourism, especially in third world/developing destination contexts like those in Africa (Majebi, 2021;Senbeto, 2022). Tourism in Africa, including Nigeria has been affected by various political, economic, and social crises, such as the ongoing political instability and the threat of terrorism in some of its destinations (Senbeto, 2022).…”

“…From the Nigerian tourism sector perspective, Nnam et al (2020) investigated the effects of the terror crises perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorists (now referred to as the Islamic State of West African Province-ISWAP) on human security in Nigeria using data collected from newspapers and magazines which were content analyzed. Their result suggests that both the intensity of terrorism and the anxieties it had unleashed on Nigerians have resulted in social and moral panic, with dire consequences on the socio-economic and political development of the destination, including the destinations' tourism industry and subsectors (Majebi, 2021). Also, Okoli & Abubakar (2021) utilize secondary data to examine armed banditry in Nigeria in relation to safety and security.…”

“…Several destinations in Nigeria are faced with a wide range of crises that can affect their tourism sector (Foreign Travel Advice Nigeria, 2023;Majebi, 2021). Nonetheless, the choice of Ogun state in the Southwest region of the country for the study is pertinent.…”