Managing Tourism Crises in Jordan

Abstract

Policymakers are faced with the predicament of if and how they should respond to an unexpected and sudden downturn in tourism demand. In the past, they have made these decisions in the absence of research into the relative effectiveness of different responses. This paper analyzes the effects of this crisis by evaluating the most important tourism crises in Jordan between 1990-2005, assessing the impact of the tourism process in the international, regional and local issues, and identifying the management of tourism crises and the programs suitable for each type of crisis. The results of the study show that the causes of the crisis are divided into two types, one of which is the result of the tourism sector itself and the other resulting from crises in another sectors. In both cases, the causes are related to the internal and external environment of the tourist destination. And the study recommended the need to adopt the national tourism strategy 2004/2010 and work on its application because it is capable of resolving the crises resulting from the tourism sector itself, and the need to diversify the tourism product to include new and integrated patterns to mitigate the damage that may be caused by tourism when exposed to crises due to the diversity of supply.

Keywords: tourism, crises, tourism crises management, Jordan.