Tourism Destination Resilience
Learn more about our initiatives and solutions for destinations
It all starts with resilience...
With the support, experience and knowledge of our members, PATA has developed several tools and resources to build the capacity of destinations and guide them towards a more resilient and sustainable future. Our projects and initiatives were created to assist destinations to recover from the COVID-19 crisis, but most importantly to better prepare for challenges that will come.
Launched in 2021, the Tourism Destination Resilience (TDR) Programme was designed to provide a pathway for tourism destinations to build resilience and increase their adaptive capacity.
At PATA we believe that resilience is essential for moving towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Without resilience, a destination would never be able to maintain its sustainability efforts. Years of progress on regenerating an ecosystem or eliminating poverty, for example, could be lost in one disaster or financial crisis. This is why we advocate that for a tourism destination to be sustainable, it must first be resilient.
With this in mind, PATA, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) came together to create the TDR Programme and empower Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) with the necessary tools and skills to future-proof their destinations. Watch the video to learn more:
Tools for Tourism Destination Resilience
The Tourism Destination Resilience Programme consists of 5 tools to enable destinations to withstand adversity and bounce forward from crises and challenges. These tools cover the three main steps of TDR:
- Risk Assessment – identifying risks in a destination
- Risk Management – managing risks and responding to crises
- Adaptive capacity – adapting to the inevitable changes that arise from crises and happen over time
1. Online learning: 10 TDR Modules
To help destinations build capacity around these three main steps, PATA has built a TDR course consisting of ten (10) online modules that cover all the necessary steps towards destinations’ resilience and long-term sustainability.
These modules are open-sourced and available in six languages: English, Vietnamese, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, Khmer and Mandarin Chinese. Learners can get a micro-certificate upon the completion of each module and a full course certificate after passing the final course quiz
Measuring destination resilience
Before starting the 10 Online TDR Modules, you might want to understand your destination's current performance in terms of risk exposure and resilience. To do so, there are two tools to help kickstart & navigate your journey towards resilience:
2. Risk Exposure Tool
The Risk Exposure Tool calculates and reports the current level of risk exposure of national-level tourism destinations based on existing PATA research and global tourism indexes.
3. Resilience Assessment Tool
The Resilience Assessment Tool allows destination managers and stakeholders to assess a destination’s level of resilience based on the perceived capacity to take preventative actions in preparation of a crisis, responses during a crisis and recovery after a crisis.
4. Resource Library
This resource library is a repository of reliable fact-based and actionable online resources and tools on the topics of resilience, crisis response, crisis communication, COVID-19 recovery, risk assessment, destination risk management, adaptive capacity and sustainability.
The library encompasses reports, case studies, toolkits, indexes and criteria, handbooks and online courses to further assist destinations in their path towards resilience.
5. Capacity building
The TDR Course, besides being an open-sourced online tool, is also a training tool for destinations at the national and subnational levels.
In December 2021, for instance, PATA concluded the first round of the TDR Training of Trainers (ToT) for National Tourism Authorities (NTAs) professionals and other national-level destinations managers and stakeholders. The ToT aimed at enabling the NTAs to disseminate the knowledge and resources of the TDR Programme to subnational destinations to better withstand adversity and bounce forward from crises and disasters.
Following the national-level training, the TDR Programme also includes workshops for DMOs at subnational destinations. These workshops aim to assist destinations to prepare their risk assessments, risk management and adaptive capacity plans.
The workshops are attended by members of the DMOs but also by other stakeholders in the destinations, such as representatives of the departments of environment, agriculture, health, waste and water management, police staff, municipality committee members, managers of tourism businesses and tourist attractions, among many others.
This diversity of stakeholders in the workshops is imperative for the thorough and holistic analysis of the destinations’ resilience needs.
If you want to know more about our training programme and tailored solutions for your destination, send us an email at [email protected] or drop us a message below.
Outcomes of the TDR Programme
The high-level outcomes of the TDR Programme, for a destination, are:
- Understanding the need to transition away from destination marketing towards destination management and stewardship.
- Identifying the key capacities that need to be strengthened in the destination in order to build resilience.
- Reframing the destination’s values and business models to be more holistic, thus including diverse stakeholders in a destination’s journey towards resilience.
- Recognising the long-term benefits of resilience for the community, the environment and the economy.
- Understanding how to secure investments for resilience programmes and projects.
Start building resilience today
Take PATA’s Complimentary Tourism Destination Resilience Course
The course is available in six languages and learners can get a certificate of completion at the end.
Crisis response and recovery
Apart from the TDR Programme, if you are looking for more tools on crisis management and response, PATA has a significant repository of resources created during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were developed to support recovery efforts in the robust and responsible renewal of the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry. As tourism recovers from the pandemic, these resources remain relevant as they are applicable to any type of crisis that the industry may face.
Supporting Partners
Check out our other initiatives
PATA also has initiatives for communities, such as the Informal Workers Programme, and for tourism businesses, such as online courses, guidelines and toolkits for plastic and food waste reduction, finance skills, digital skills and cybersecurity. Check these below:
For communities
For businesses
Learn How a PATA Membership Can Help You Achieve Your Organisational Goals
We help support the growth of our members’ businesses in both public and private sectors by expanding their networks regionally and globally, while strengthening the tourism industry through trade events, industry research, professional development programs, and targeted channels for brand exposure.
What Our Experts Say About Us
John Bailey – Managing Consultant, Global Communications Consulting
“The key to crisis management is to identify potential risks, then seek to reduce their likely impact. Preparing for unexpected shocks or disruptions is an essential element of planning, and you should not wait for a crisis to happen to put a plan in place.”
Matteo Bierschneider – Co-founder, Wise Steps Indonesia
“Capacity building is arguably the most important tool to turn strategies, action plans and risk reduction agendas into living policies by equipping the people with the right skills.”
Mark Evidente – CEO, TwoEco, Inc.
“While much has already been said about the need to make the travel industry more sustainable, true sustainability that meets the needs of future generations requires that we plan and adapt to triumph over crises.”
Nerissa Juan – Division Chief, Tourism Promotions Board Philippines
"TDR is an innovative programme because it provides a holistic framework, which encompasses not only natural disasters and pandemics, but also a wide range of challenges particular to tourism destinations."