How can destinations in Africa improve emergency response provision for tourists?

Recently in Tanzania, there was a news item about the installation of high-speed internet on Mt Kilimanjaro to improve communication and emergency rescue efforts and make Mt Kilimanjaro safe for climbers.

Health, safety and security rank high as key decision-making factors for visitors while selecting their destinations. Emergency response measures signal to visitors that the destination prioritizes their safety, and that should things go wrong, there is a plan and process in place. These destinations understand that such measures add to their attractiveness and competitiveness for tourists.

Here are 7 key steps that can help make your organizations and destinations safer:

1. The best time to plan for an emergency is when there is no emergency.
2. If you already have an emergency response plan in place, review it to make sure it is still relevant and accurate.
3. Establish on-site safety and prevention measures on-site.
4. Then look at emergency management, e.g. staff first-aid training and site analysis to ensure sites are safe and secure for visitors. Tourist attractions are typically not accessible for people with disabilities, and in some cases, poorly managed and not safe for visitors.
5. Develop a pre-developed emergency response checklist to have a strong understanding of established emergency procedures and lines of responsibility.
6. Provide accessible, clear and accurate communication channels – telephone and internet access as well as having emergency response telephone numbers and stations at key places throughout destinations.
7. Destinations should have visitor information centres across key parts to be a one-stop place for reporting incidents.

Of course, lessons are always learnt to see how to improve on existing strategies, and after an emergency, a post-situation analysis should be done to draw out what went well and lessons learnt to be fed into the updated emergency response plan. What is clear is that we need to have a  more proactive approach that would help in times of emergency.

To do this, we need to develop sustainable tourism crisis management policies.

Further Resources:

World Travel and Tourism Council (2019). Crisis Preparedness, Management & Recovery

Todman Lewis (2017). Strategies for Crisis Preparedness of Tourist Destinations