Social Media and Crisis Communication in Tourism and Hospitality

The use of social media in the crisis communications process has grown tremendously in the past decade. Social media is now an integral part of the crisis management process. The evolution of the mobile phone and other mobile technologies, computers, Internet access, and digital video equipment is reshaping communication networks and the ways we connect with each other. This chapter defines crisis and crisis communication, explains the role of crisis communication for the tourism and hospitality industry, and details the challenges and opportunities of social media for crisis communication in tourism and hospitality.

In addition, this chapter explores the latest literature on social media related to risk and crisis communication. A thorough review of academic literature, industry white papers, and trade publications was conducted. Using the insights from this literature review, this chapter provides implications of social media and crisis communication for the hospitality and tourism industry for each phase of a crisis (pre, during, post) and discusses recent developments in social media and technology that may affect crisis communication.