Crisis communication response strategies: a case study of the Irish Tourist Board's response to the 2001 European foot and mouth scare.

Abstract

This chapter documents the communication response strategy employed by the Irish Tourist Board (ITB) in New York to the 2001 foot and mouth crisis. While providing key learning points for practice, the chapter also integrates recent academic literature to develop key recommendations for dealing with such a crisis situation in the future. Three key lessons can be identified from the ITB response to the foot and mouth crisis: (1) to have in place a structured action plan, even before the crisis hits, as time is at a premium during crisis; (2) to have a structure in place, where members of the team know their role in the recovery campaign; and (3) the identification of key stakeholders is critical to the entire strategy, in terms of knowing who to communicate with, and how and when.