The public profile of the University of Florida’s Tourism Crisis Management Institute (TCMI) was raised significantly with the first ever Tourism Crises Management Symposium held June 25, 2008 in Gainesville. TCMI partnered with the Florida Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus to develop a three-hour workshop aimed at assisting Florida’s key destination management organizations in the development of their tourism crisis management plans. Almost 100 representatives from CVB and TDC organizations around the state participated in this inaugural event.

The symposium brought together experts from the private and public sectors to respond to the following expressed needs:

• What does a comprehensive crisis plan look like?
• How do we create our organization’s plan?
• How do we plan for our own employees and their needs while they help our community’s economy to recover from a disaster?
• Can we develop tools to help each other if one area of Florida is affected and other areas are not?
• How can Chambers work with their CVB/TDC to mitigate the sensationalism that is sometimes created by media?
• How can the county CVB organizations work with VISIT FLORIDA to re-position the State following a disaster?
• What are the training needs for crisis planning as it relates to the tourism industry?

The symposium provided an opportunity to learn about “best practices” being used in other countries; to share concerns, ideas, and solutions for planning, responding, and recovering from man-made and natural disasters. It also allowed the TCMI team to better understand the needs of destination management organizations in relation to crisis plan preparation, staff training, and public policy decision-making.