Research Article |
Successful Strategies to Sustain Profits from Tourism Following a Hurricane
Author(s) : Dr. Kevin C. James1, Dr. Dina L. Samora2, Dr. Irene A. Williams3and Dr. Desire S. Luamba4
Publisher : FOREX Publication
Published : 10 December 2021
e-ISSN : 2347-4696
Page(s) : 457-466
Abstract
Hurricanes have caused billions of dollars in damage to the hotel industry in Florida, significantly affecting tourism flow. The unpredictable impact of hurricanes makes sustaining profits challenging. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that hotel leaders use to sustain tourism profits following a hurricane. The theory of image restoration provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data was collected from company documents and semi-structured interviews with 5 hotel leaders in Central Florida. Transcribed data were coded then validated using member checking during the data analysis, which revealed 5 themes: storm impact, accommodations, operations, communications, and planning. Results indicated the relevance of the theory of image restoration to help hotel leaders get operations back to normal following a hurricane by emphasizing how effective crisis response strategies can help create opportunities to sustain profits beyond tourism. Results may be used by hotel leaders to sustain profits and support their communities during hurricane recovery by providing accommodations, safety, and security to stakeholders other than tourists, such as first responders, state, and residents.
Keywords: Crisis Communication
, Organizational Crisis
, Resilience
, Tourism Crisis
, Tourism Industry
Dr. Kevin C. James , DBA, Subcontracts Manager, L3Harris Technologies Inc., Palm Bay, FL-USA ; Email: kcjames787@gmail.com
Dr. Dina L. Samora , DBA, Faculty Contributor, College of Management and Technology, Walden University, USA ; Email: Dina.Samora@waldenu.edu
Dr. Irene A. Williams , Ph.D. Senior Contributing Faculty Programs, College of Management and Technology, Walden University, USA ; Email: irene.williams@mail.waldenu.edu
Dr. Desire S. Luamba , Vice President and CEO, Star Light Consulting LLC, Manassas, VA-USA ; Email: luambade@gmail.com
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Dr. Kevin C. James, Dr. Dina L. Samora, Dr. Irene A. Williams and Dr. Desire S. Luamba (2021), Successful Strategies to Sustain Profits from Tourism Following a Hurricane. IJBMR 9(4), 457-466. DOI: 10.37391/IJBMR.090409.