St. Kitts hosts Crisis Communication Workshop
By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN an effort to introduce public agencies and the media to important concepts in crisis management as it pertains to the tourism industry, the St. Kitts Tourism Authority (SKTA) hosted a Crisis Communications Workshop on Monday (Nov. 17) at the Frigate Bay Resort.
The objective of the workshop was to sensitise persons to the factors involved in the accurate reporting of crises so that a strong crisis management team can be established within the Federation.
The workshop’s facilitator was Candace Kimmel of the New York-based Public Relations firm Adams Unlimited. The firm has a five-year relationship with the SKTA, which is based on their advertising and marketing of the indigenous tourism product.
According to Kimmel, today’s ‘24/7’ news cycle and the advent of citizen journalism have forced the consideration of what is considered newsworthy as well as the origin of newsworthy items.
“There is a constant demand for more information, particularly when it concerns a natural disaster, crime, pain, suffering or conflict,” she said.
~~Adz:Right~~The workshop consisted of several two-hour sessions which addressed issues including Crime against Tourists, Violent Crimes and Natural Disasters. Also present at the workshop were representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, SKTA, St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The sessions were interactive-based and relied on the use of case studies and real-life incidents such as the Natalee Holloway case in Aruba and the British ‘honeymoon couple’ in Antigua. Kimmel also stressed the importance of advance preparation and ensuring that the plan of action to be undertaken is of a comprehensive and integrated nature.
“It is essential that St. Kitts develops a successful contingency communications strategy in order to manage crises and to make the process of rebuilding public image and perception as painless and simple as possible.
“We cannot afford to have what happened in Antigua and in Aruba happen here. There must be structures in place to ensure that the flow of information that is relayed to the public and the international community is accurate and timely,” stated Kimmel.
