Navigating crisis in tourism: Preparing the future workforce

Every year, approximately 6,000 British tourists die overseas due to a variety of causes, ranging from natural deaths to unlawful killings, accidental deaths, and destination-specific disasters. Despite the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's statistics being outdated, this figure remains alarmingly accurate according to ex-Detective Sergeant Miles Manning of Scotland Yard.

With over 30 years of service and experience in handling over 600 crisis incidents involving UK nationals abroad, Manning's expertise is invaluable. He has played a crucial role in repatriation efforts and served as a Family Liaison Coordinator during catastrophic events like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2015 terrorist attack in Tunisia. In his long experience shared every year with the second-year students of the BA (Hons) International Tourism Management of Leeds Beckett University, Miles cannot get over the lack of preparedness and absence of duty of care of the industry to prepare their staff for dealing with potential risks and crises. As Miles mentioned ‘in most incidents I had to liaise on site with young graduates on their first ever post as local tour reps. Some of these kids were profoundly traumatised by what they had to deal with…’. 

Manning's observations highlight a critical issue in the tourism industry: the lack of preparedness among industry professionals to handle crises effectively. His experiences, shared annually with second-year students of the BA (Hons) International Tourism Management students at Leeds Beckett University, underscore the necessity of early and ideally continuous crisis management training for tourism staff. 

The need for preparedness is supported by literature on crisis management and personal resilience, with organizations like the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and GOV.UK emphasizing the importance of developing these skills. The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) strongly advocates for regular staff training on Crisis Management and Operational Response in Travel.

In response to this growing need, the BA (Hons) International Tourism Management course at Leeds Beckett University introduces students early to the essential crisis management skills. The Critical Issues in Tourism module, led by Dr Kyriaki Glyptou and developed in consultation with ABTA, provides students both with the theoretical foundations on crisis and risk management and offers them opportunities to build practical experience and skills. Through immersive simulations of real-time crises, students learn to assess risks, build contingencies, and make decisions under pressure, all while being guided by experienced professionals like Miles Manning and supported by the School’s Wellbeing practitioner Gareth Cavill.

This proactive approach ensures that graduates are not only aware of the risks associated with their roles but are also confident in their ability to manage them. Crisis Management training, of the type of crisis that affects people, and not merely business operations is becoming of paramount importance. Industry workforce should be prepared and agile to react upon highly specialist information in short timeframes.

Leeds Beckett students build skills, awareness, and confidence by being exposed to a crisis within a safe and controlled environment under the monitoring of highly skilled professionals. Maya, a graduate of the course explained that "when I mentioned the crisis training during my recruitment interview, the panel commended on how aware I was of the risks associate with the post, my suggestions to mitigate them and how confident I seemed to be able to manage them".

The BA (Hons) International Tourism Management course at Leeds Beckett University is dedicated to preparing students for the complexities of the tourism industry, fostering resilience, and ensuring they can support those affected by crises effectively. As Manning poignantly states, getting it right is crucial for the well-being of both the professionals and those they help.

Miles Manning's LinkedIn profile