Tourism Crisis Management Certificate Program

Founded in 2007, the Tourism Crisis Management  Institute (TCMI) is focused on research and training that will help tourism  businesses prepare for, and recover from, nature and human induced disasters  that create crises for visitor destinations. TCMI is part of the broader Eric  Friedheim Tourism Institute located at the University of Florida.

 

About

What is it?

The certificate series is  strictly targeted to tourism industry professionals who wish to build skills  related to crisis reduction, readiness, response, and recovery from natural and  human-induced disasters that affect their destination or business. Specific  certification programs are offered for each of the following professional  audiences:

• Destination Management and Marketing  Professionals
• Accommodations and Lodging Industry  Professionals
• Attractions  Industry Professionals

Who Should Become Certified?

The certificate series is designed for senior  leadership within tourism organizations, including current and aspiring GMs and  executive team members, and mid-to-senior-level management.

Why Become Certified?

• To learn how my business/destination can better  prepare for crisis events that affect us and our economic well-being
• To enable my business/destination to respond  to eventual crises and protect visitors, industry personnel, and our image in  the marketplace
• To enable my business/destination to recover  as quickly as possible
• To become networked to a group of industry  professionals through shared learning that will build cooperation and  assistance in times of crisis
• To create  or significantly improve the tourism crisis management plan that will enable  your business/destination to prepare, respond and recover from a crisis event

Why the University of Florida Tourism Crisis Management Program?

TCMI has a team of seasoned professionals to  facilitate the certificate training programs. This certificate is offered ONLY  at UF, with its unique approach to  blending current research with leaders who have planned and implemented crisis  management for both tourism destinations and businesses. While other  certificate programs speak to general planning for all types of businesses,  this is the only series targeted specifically to the tourism industry and its  varied segments.

 

Course Information

The certificate in Tourism  Crisis Management course is an interactive online program designed to provide industry  professionals with the expertise and tools needed to plan and prepare for  crisis events.

This 5 module learning  series has been developed by the faculty at the University of Florida Tourism  Crisis Management Institute. The series will be taught by professionals who  have honed their crisis management skills through experienced leadership.

The  online environment allows for interaction between fellow professionals and  faculty without the time and investment of travel to the training site. Team  members completing the certification will produce a comprehensive crisis  management plan for their organization that follows the complete reduction,  readiness, response and recovery model.

Course Objectives

• To enable organizations to prepare for crisis  events that affect the well-being of the tourism industry
• To enable managers to evaluate current risk  and encourage necessary public policy that will lead to recovery
• To enable organizations to respond quickly  and protect their image
• To enable the affected organization to  recover as soon as possible
• To engage industry professionals in a shared  learning experience
• To provide a resource for future crises which  will aid in execution of well thought out policies

How Long Will It Take To Achieve Certification?

• 14 days from start to finish
• Cohort group works together for 14 day period
• Time investment is approximately 1 hour per day.  This includes the online lecture, online discussion with your peer group,  background reading and assignments that will help you build your  agency/organization plan

How Will My Coursework Be Evaluated?

Each module involves an  online lecture, course readings, interactive discussions and assignments.  Participants will upload sections of their organization crisis management plan  specifically assigned as the work product for the weekly learning module.

The final project for each  participant will be their written plan. Participants from the same organization  may work as a group. The plan will be organized to address all four stages of  crisis planning: reduction, readiness, response and recovery. The last module  will also include a brief quiz covering some of the reading material presented  in the course.

 

Faculty & Instructors

TCMI Faculty

Dr. Pennington-Gray

Lori Pennington-Gray, Ph.D. has been at the University of Florida since 1999. She  received tenure in 2005. Her recent agenda covers both the supply side and  demand side of tourism. Lori is an Associate Director of the Eric Friedheim  Tourism Institute. Her responsibilities with the Institute are to conduct and  facilitate interdisciplinary research projects focusing on a wide range of  tourism issues in the U.S. and internationally. She has made a significant  contribution to the body of literature on specific topics related to tourism policies  and marketing. More recently she has focused on tourism crisis management and  its various components.

As Director of the Tourism Crisis Management  Institute, she oversees the research and education products developed by all  team members. Her research focus is primarily on the relationship between  consumer behavior and tourism crisis management planning. She has extensive  projects with DMOs at the International, National, State and Local levels and  is excited to share her time with the online tourism crisis management  certificate participants.

Dr. Brijesh Thapa

Dr.  Brijesh Thapa, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of  Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Florida. As the  Director of the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute, his responsibilities with the  Institute are mainly to facilitate interdisciplinary research projects focusing  on wide range of tourism issues in the U.S. and internationally. Other duties  as Director include working with potential donors, managing an advisory board  and overseeing and coordinating all the marketing materials for the Institute.  Dr. Thapa has been involved in numerous research projects in the state of  Florida, U.S., and internationally. He has examined various tourism related  topics including crisis management with an emphasis on level of preparedness  and response for natural and human-induced disasters for governments and the  private sectors.

 

Research Associates

Ignatius Cahyanto

Ignatius Cahyanto is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of  Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Florida. He is  the research associate for the Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute and the Tourism  Crisis Management Institute at UF. His research interest is concentrated in  crisis management for the tourism industry. He is particularly interested in  understanding tourists’ behavior during crises. He is involved heavily in  several research projects in the area of tourism crisis management. He recently  received competitive research grants to complete his dissertation on tourists’  hurricane evacuation behaviors. He has authored and co-authored several  research articles and has presented his research at several international  conferences in the United States, Italy, Indonesia, and Canada. He has written  several technical reports and white papers with regard to tourism crisis  management. Recently, he was quoted by leading business newspapers in Florida with  regard to hurricane education to tourists.

Ashley  Schroeder

Ashley  Schroeder is a Master’s student in the Department of  Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management at the University of Florida. She  graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a  specialization in Mass Communication from the University of Florida. Ashley  returned to the University of Florida to pursue her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees  in Tourism Studies in the summer of 2010. She is a Graduate Research Associate for  the Tourism Crisis Management Institute. Her research interests include tourism  crisis management and technology. She is specifically interested in advancing  understanding of the role that social media has in communication before,  during, and after a crisis.

 

TCMI Instructors

Elaine McLaughlin

Elaine M. McLaughlin, CDME is an Instructor for the  Destination Management Organization (DMO) sector of the TCMI Online  Certification. Elaine has served as the executive director of the Lee Island  Coast Visitor and Convention Bureau for over 12 years. She has been named as  one of the leading women in tourism by Travel Agent Magazine on two separate  occasions. Elaine has developed a comprehensive emergency operations plan,  developed a visitor assistance program to help families whose loved ones are  injured or die while on vacation, created a travel agent help desk and  organized an education program to build a future tourism industry workforce. In  1995, she represented Florida at the White House Conference on Tourism, and for  over 6 years served on the Florida Commission on Tourism and the board of Visit  Florida, Inc. She was the first person in Florida to achieve the prestigious  Certified Destination Management Executive. Elaine also served two terms as the  President of the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. She  currently serves as President of the Friends of Florida State Parks.

Amy Elliot

Amy Elliot is an Instructor for the  Attractions/Lodging sectors of the TCMI Online Certification. Amy spent 13  years at the Walt Disney Company where she was responsible for delivering  integrated Human Resources strategies, developing people strategy initiatives  and providing domestic and international HR support. Prior to her role in Human  Resources, Amy held responsibility for training and service standards for  Resorts Food and Beverage at the Disney University. Amy’s leadership experience  also includes roles as Sr. Director of Operations and Brand Standards for  Hilton Grand Vacations and VP of Operations for Florida Restaurants in Winter  Park, FL, including the award winning Park Plaza Gardens.

 

Registration

Please contact the program administrators at tcm@dce.ufl.edu for registration information.