When tourism professionals prepare for a disaster, saving lives and minimizing panic is a top concern. But long after roofs are repaired and hotels are up and running again, the damage to a destination’s image can linger. That’s one of the reasons UF’s Tourism Crisis Management Institute within the Center for Tourism Research and Development created a program to train travel professionals in disaster preparedness. The online certificate classes not only helps destinations to develop emergency plans, but also helps tourism professionals to create recovery plans to get their destinations back in business management. “Creating plans have direct and indirect benefits … but overall these plans will reduce the impact of the crisis for both companies and destinations alike,” says Lori Pennington-Gray, Director of the Institute.

Getting tourist traffic back to normal after a disaster doesn’t just benefit vacationers. In states like Florida the health of the tourism industry is critical to the economy. When tourists are scared away from a destination, the community and state stand to lose private-sector revenue, tax dollars and jobs. Elaine McLaughlin, who oversees UF’s crisis-management certificate for destination management organizations, knows economic damage from a natural disaster can extend far beyond the affected area.

McLaughlin was the executive director of the Fort Myers/ Sanibel area’s Visitor and Convention Bureau when Hurricane Andrew swept across the state in 1992. The lessons she learned from that experience — as well as studying the response to Hurricane Hugo and many storms since— helped shape McLaughlin’s tourism crisis-management plan for Fort Myers, the first of its kind in Florida. Now she’s making her expertise available to tourism professionals nationwide through UF’s certificate program, which offers courses tailored to destination management organizations, attractions, lodging, cruise industries and travel intermediaries. Travel professionals in the program develop tourism crisis management plans for disasters both natural and manmade, from wildfires and floods to acts of terrorism. “We know that when communities have these systems and policies in place, they can help the area recover more quickly from a disaster,” McLaughlin says. “That’s critical not only to protect visitors, but to get the destination open for business again and get people in the industry back to work.” Developing plans is just one of the activities within the Tourism Crisis Management Institute.