| This paper examines the shift from traditional media to new media in tourism destinations that might be hit by crises by closely looking at examples of tourist destinations that have faced crises in the last year, as well as looking at a tourism disaster management framework and what would need to be altered given the new media environment. The purpose of the study is to examine how social media was used by the chosen case studies during their times of crisis, and concludes with recommendations on how destinations could effectively use social media in the future. The key issues discussed in this paper include how social media is changing crisis communication, how traditional and new media are working together in a crisis, and crisis communication planning for the future. The principal conclusion was that education needs to be at the forefront of any crisis plan, while synchronization, content, language and tone all play an important part in effective crisis engagement. |
