The Role of Crisis Communication in Tourism Risk Management A Survey Study on the Asir Development Authority

Abstract

The current study aimed to shed light on the role of crisis media in managing tourism risks in the Asir region. The study focused on revealing the types of tourism risks facing tourism in the region, and identifying the media strategies followed to confront them. The study also sought to evaluate the role of crisis media in managing these risks, and clarify the types of media treatments followed by the Asir Development Authority, in addition to identifying the challenges facing the Authority in implementing its media strategies. To achieve the objectives of the study, an electronic questionnaire was used to measure the level of the role of crisis media in managing tourism risks among employees of the Asir Development Authority, especially in the tourism and corporate communication departments. The questionnaire was distributed using the comprehensive inventory method, and the study relied on the survey method to collect data. The results obtained from the questionnaire showed that there are multiple types of tourism risks facing the Asir region, including environmental risks. It also became clear that the media plays a crucial role in raising awareness of risks and ways to avoid them, in addition to its role in promoting safe tourism. The results also showed that the challenges facing Asir Development Authority include the lack of a specialized media department to manage tourism risks in the Asir region, and the need to develop the technical infrastructure to support modern media strategies. These results represent an important step towards improving tourism risk management in the region and enhancing the role of the media in this field, despite these challenges.