Dominica will soon be armed with a manual to manage crisis in the tourism sector, officials are saying.
The “Crisis Management Plan for Dominica,” as it is called, is expected to provide guidelines on how to respond to, report and who to communicate with during a crisis or disaster in the sector.
Tourism Minister Ian Douglas told a press conference on Wednesday that bad information can hurt a destination.
“In a matter of weeks, we will be able to launch a crisis management plan in Dominica,” he said. “We had a crisis management conference where we looked at our own crisis issues and how do we go about reporting on them. The media plays an important role in reporting on the issues.”
“we need to have a protocol and a structure on how we treat these various incidents and how we report on them,” Douglas stated.
He said the manual caters for a wide section of society, and including law enforcement, health and emergency personnel, tourism officials, media and private sector individuals.
Vice President of the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association Maxine Alleyne Esprit says the implementation of the Crisis Management Plan is timely.
“There was a need to find a way to put a structure around the management of crisis,” she stated. “There are several different types of crisis that can occur and that can affect the tourism industry.”
Esprit said it is important that the industry has the support and confidence in a manual that will guide it on how to respond to a crisis.
“we need to have a protocol and a structure on how we treat these various incidents and how we report on them,” Douglas stated.
Well the whole world just saw and heard that You are coming up with a crisis management manual.Maybe You should have kept that a secret !
Tourism crisis manual for real as in Dominica’s tourism is in crisis!!!
Anyway at least somebody or bodies got paid some good money to “consult” on this manual.
Did you all especially and tourist what were their experiences were in the country? Because before all this is done, know damn well that in my years of travelling, I have never experience such poor customer service, before doing that, make sure that the vagrants has a place they can go to and participate in something positive like a community centre, instead of harassing tourist and visitors so badly that they cannot get into a store to shop. Make sure the roads are pave and free from pot holes in the city, and
that vehicles are not driving so close to the side walks that pedestrians are forced to walk over gutter, before of a manual please take care of business at ground level.
Where is Dominica? Nowhere to be seen! Go out and tell and sell the country Mr Minister of Tourism. Dominica is missing in Tourism action!
http://news.caribseek.com/index.php/caribbean-islands-news/caribbean-region-news/item/49995-business-development-trip-to-china-urged-at-avalon-invest-caribbean-now-2013
Another Fruitless venture…
Get rid of this regime someone please!
nothing has and will grow under them…
they are just too corrupt.
After so many years….
Would be interesting to read this Crisis Management Plan.
I would have thought that we had one already but I guess not.
Better late than never.
What is a crisis manual!
The only way you can have a crisis manual informing people how to deal with a specific issue, or crisis, is if you have dealt with such crisis in the past. Ian Douglas does not seem to understand that the term crisis can be defined in many different ways.
When we are talking crisis , we could be talking about some taking place in the personal life of some: i.e. the turning point in an event for better, or worst in a disease as simple as a headache or fever, or some paroxysmal attack or pain, distress, or disorder.
It can involve some emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life. A crisis can be related to just about anything, so except he is talking about something such as expected disasters such as hurricane, wild fires, accidents, and riots in the country, or an invasion of the country which would mean a crisis in the country, this man does not know what the heck he is talking about.
You can only prepare a manual to deal with an expected crisis and not any unknown.
then again we never can tell, since this man Ian has some special traits about him such as more comfortable reading up side down, and reading from right to left you know!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!
What a boy!
I hear he speaks a language which only he understands, and they say it is not English, patios, nor a language know to any other human.
Francisco Etienne-Dods Telemaque
Ian, actions speaks louder than words. Faith without works is dead. These so called ministers,
are like beating a dead horse. Lots of talk and no action. The only action they take care of, is for their own selfish and self centered selves.
When,where these guys were born? They suppose to be so educated. Can’t they see DOMINICA IS FAILING FINANCIALY, SOCIALLY, ECONOMICALLY, SPIRITYALLY, MORALLY, EDUCATIONALLY ETC. Please let another CAPTIN STEER THIS SHIP ON THE RIGHT DIRECTION. You all have failed, Move over, and back off.
When and IF a disaster strikes…..it will be a disaster here. A manual doesn’t solve it. Only prepared and practiced action solves it.
we are losing customers because of your childish comments,help us to help you
cheeeeups
I hope this is not a technical way of controlling the free press!
Will information during a Crisis be surpressed,warped and turn into misinformation?
Will someone telling the Truth during such a crisis be penalized in the name of saving Tourism?
I think we better watch this very closely Fellow Dominicans!
There are enough lies ,secrets and deceptions around us we dont need anymore !
Me na think so! Too little too late! Don’t worry be happy!………………….. LOL Have another Kabuli!
basically what he is saying is what happens in barbados and other islands that when something negetive happens put it in the middle of the news paper in small print and not all over the front page to scare everyone in to not visiting us,it makes sense but he needs to do a lot more than talking,wheres the actionmyou have one of the best jobs in da and you dont love it because if you did you would get a lot more done
Don’t panic! It’s just another consultation document. More words to be filed away.
how can tourism grow when your people bring down these gays think befor u talk sir
So much
talk talk talk and they still have tourist and locals taking d scent of pupu kar kar all over roso….so much talk 
talk talk talk they want to raise Tourism earnings and Tourist pay no user fee when they enter the Botanical Gardens…. 
talk talk talk many Tourism sites around the island lack basic washroom facilities and patrons have to go and do 1 and 2 in the bush. PM PUT YOUR STRONGEST MINISTER IN MIN OF TOURISM or get LENNOX H OR OPHELIA OR MICHELLE H to do the job for us,,,the Discover Dominica Authority DDA is another public waste department, which is competing with DEXIA for the non-productive award ….TALK TALK AND MORE TALK there are some tourists facilities in the middle of POSSIE that don’t meet basic standards at all ; rite under their nose…..talk talk talk talk and VAGRANTS take over the capital….keep on talking……
What crisis could affect tourists that would not hurt us as well. We should have a crisis plan up and running for everybody, not only tourists. I hope this is not one of those ideas that look good on paper to pacify overseas tourist bodies but has little or no substance in practice. Yes, we should have a crisis plan. Yes, it should be real and apply to everybody.
Reduce Crime – Tourism goes up, I could have offered that advice for FREE.
I have a suggestion to boost tourism – if we offering passports to crooks and criminals why not provide license for Polygamny ? After all we have people marrying while they are still married.
So if we can offer that service wr will get plenty tourist from Utah and Amish Pennsylvania .
Si ous mal mayais de mayais – I use to love that zouke. The days of the good old zouke music .
What about those boxes of tourism master plan you have still sitting in those offices Ian.
Thank you! thats exactly what i would like to klnow as well, these policy makers spend so much money on consultations and these documenst sit in their offices and collects dust, they themselves hardly even read it, and do not have a clue how to impliment. Lord help us.
Seeing that the stake holders in the tourism entity includes everyone including Law Enforcement, I want to know what resources did you tap to generate the manual to manage crisis in the tourism sector?
good initiative