Negative PR Affecting Aruba's Tourism
Thursday June 23, 2005
Natalee Holloway's disappearance has sparked a wave of vacation plan changes and the Aruba Tourism Authority is facing a PR struggle to protect the island's once-clean image. Travel agents report vacationers are switching their travel itineraries to other destinations and those who are visiting Aruba say the island resembles a ghost town.
The press coverage has touted the island as peaceful and one of the safest places to travel in the world. But the negative PR associated with the missing teen is hurting the island, which depends on tourism for 70 percent of its revenues. Guests are also appearing on news shows like "The O'Reilly Factor" calling for an Aruban boycott.
About 1,278,000 tourists visit Aruba each year, with 550,000 of those being from cruise ships. More than 70 percent of Aruba's visitors are from the U.S.
The press coverage has touted the island as peaceful and one of the safest places to travel in the world. But the negative PR associated with the missing teen is hurting the island, which depends on tourism for 70 percent of its revenues. Guests are also appearing on news shows like "The O'Reilly Factor" calling for an Aruban boycott.
About 1,278,000 tourists visit Aruba each year, with 550,000 of those being from cruise ships. More than 70 percent of Aruba's visitors are from the U.S.
Comments
Aruba would not have lost 100,000 of its American visitors in the past 12 months (source: Diario Aruba newspaper) if it had simply proven the allegations of corruption, cover-up, and crime involving Natalee’s disappearance instead of sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into PR. Other Caribbean tourism officials seem to be missing this point as well: if a crime happens to a tourist, it is better to just prove allegations and suspicions wrong by serving the cause of justice - as Aruba has discovered, actions speak louder than spin.
Public Relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organizaiton with the pubic interest, and plans, executes, and evaluates a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.
To Sarah Powell, that is such a textbook definition of PR when there is so much more to the world of public relations. If you were to use that definition to the average consumer or company looking for PR, they would just say, “HUH?”