the dark shadow of a world crisis1518884/... · 2021. 1. 18. · the dark shadow of a world crisis:...

The dark shadow of a world crisis: a study on how organizations in Östergötland county manage, organize and plan for the effects of the Corona pandemic 2020

Written by: Sanna Hasanagic

Supervisor: Christian Widholm Spring Semester 2020 - Tourism Studies - Södertörn University School of Natural Sciences, Technology & Environmental Studies Master’s dissertation 15 credits

Abstract

Tourism in rural areas has an important role of developing and altering the rural communities when it comes to the environment, social and economic structures. Rural areas have high potential in tourism development but the world is continuously experiencing the power of nature. December 2019 the world experienced the beginning of the Corona pandemic that would later affect the whole world in just weeks. The Corona pandemic has caused many problems throughout the world but one sector that was specifically affected was the tourism sector. Even though crises are to some extent random and rare, there is no organization that is immune from such events. Unfortunately, many tourism-oriented organizations have been affected by this crisis and there has been a marginal decrease in bookings from previous years.

The purpose of this study is to examinate how different organizations manage, organize and plan for crises in rural destinations in Östergötland county. The focus lies on organizations that are dependent on tourism and that use tourism as their main sources of income. The study has a qualitative research approach meaning qualitative semi-structured interviews with organizations in rural destinations. The main findings were that organizations in rural areas don’t have experience about crisis management and therefore don’t adapt it in their organization. In order for organizations to reorganize and plan for the crisis there need to be guides and routines on how the organization will achieve it. By having different plans for different crises, the organization can be better prepared for the next one. The important steps in the reorganization are communication strategy, controlling resources and collaboration with stakeholders. No matter how big or small the organization is, it is important for each organization to have an organization plan in order to tackle and reduce the consequences of a crisis.

Keywords: Corona pandemic, rural destination, crisis management, crisis training, organization, management.

Declaration

I, Sanna Hasanagic, hereby declare that the content of this study is no one’s but my own contribution. The participants in this study have consented to the use of their answers for research purposes only and have been notified of this. Any text that has been used in this study from another author has been acknowledged in both the text and later listed in the references.

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge everyone who played a role in my academic accomplishments. First of all, I would like to thank all participants in this study, without you this would not have been possible. Second of all I would like to thank my supervisor Christian Widholm for his guidance, as well Saeid Abbasian for his instructive seminars. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends who supported me throughout the whole process with love and understanding.

Thank you all for your unwavering support.

Tableofcontent 1. Introduction................................................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Problem statement......................................................................................................................................................2 1.3 Dissertation aim ...........................................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Research questions......................................................................................................................................................4 1.5 Delimitations .................................................................................................................................................................4 1.6 Dissertation outline ....................................................................................................................................................4

2. Research Method.......................................................................................................................................6 2.1 Research approach......................................................................................................................................................6 2.2 Research method: Interviews .................................................................................................................................6 2.3 Analysis method: thematic analysis.....................................................................................................................7 2.4 Data collection method .............................................................................................................................................8 2.5 Validity and reliability...............................................................................................................................................9 2.6 Critique of qualitative research.............................................................................................................................9 2.7 Ethical issues...............................................................................................................................................................10

3. Theoretical Framework....................................................................................................................... 12 3.1 Earlier research.........................................................................................................................................................12 3.2 Crisis management...................................................................................................................................................13 3.3 Crisis organizing .......................................................................................................................................................14 3.3.1 Crisis/disaster prevention and planning.........................................................................................15 3.3.2 Strategic implementation.......................................................................................................................16 3.3.3 Resolution, evaluation and feedback.................................................................................................16

3.4 Crisis management preparation and prevention .......................................................................................17 3.4.1. Transitioning into crisis mode ............................................................................................................17 3.4.2. Know the basic elements of crisis management .........................................................................18 3.4.3. Teamwork ....................................................................................................................................................18 3.4.4. Preparation and support for decision-making.............................................................................18 3.4.5. Reaction to the unexpected ..................................................................................................................18

3.5 Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................18

4. Empirical results .................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Presentation of respondents ................................................................................................................................21 4.2 Planning for crises....................................................................................................................................................24 4.3 Impact of a crisis .......................................................................................................................................................26 4.4 Organization crisis method ..................................................................................................................................27 4.5 Future tourism and crisis development ..........................................................................................................29

5. Analysis ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Concept of crisis management in rural areas ..............................................................................................31 5.2 Crisis planning............................................................................................................................................................32 5.3 Crisis implementation guideline ........................................................................................................................33 5.4 Crisis evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................34 5.5 Crisis prevention........................................................................................................................................................35

6. Conclusions and further research .................................................................................................... 37 6.1 The Corona crisis impact on organizations in rural areas.....................................................................37

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6.2 Reorganizing and planning organizations during a crisis.....................................................................38 6.3 Further research .......................................................................................................................................................40

References

Appendix

1. Introduction The introduction chapter presents the research topic; crisis management and tourism by presenting a background, problem statement, dissertation aim, research questions and delimitation of the research.

1.1 Background Tourism contributes to the formation of new destinations, encourages reshaping of old ones and restructures processes that opens new ways to create rural opportunities. This provides for the society as a whole and satisfies the tourists needs, demands and desires (Figueiredo E., 2011; Cloke, PJ., Marsden, T, and Mooney, P.H, 2006; Butler, Hall & Jenkins, 1998; in Figueiredo & Raschi, 2013). Tourism in rural areas has an important role of developing and altering the rural communities when it comes to the environment, social and economic structures. It allows the destination to grow and evolve in ways like preserving the natural heritage and rural culture. Tomic (2008) in Milićević, Podovac & Čavlin, (2015) presents rural areas as high potential in tourism development. Rural tourism has many definitions (Ayazlar & Ayazlar, 2015) but in simple words Negrusa et al. (2007) described it as “a form of tourism provided by local people in rural areas, with small-scale accommodation, rural activities and customs of life”. Woods (2000) mentioned how the rural areas have, among other things, an authentic agriculture, natural resources and is often portrayed as an smaller town, with fewer inhabitants, with charm (Gartner, 2005). According to National Geographic (2020) rural areas are often called “the country” and have low population density which differs from country to country. For example, in the US small towns with 2500 inhabitants or less are defined as rural but in Japan small towns with 30 000 people or less are considered as rural. Rural settlements are defined in different ways depending on where you are in the world.

Wilson, Fesenmaier, Fesenmaier & Es (2012) mention that it’s important for a rural area to have overall good community leadership, support and participation of local government, strategic planning, coordination and cooperation between businesspersons in tourism and local leadership, and an overall good support for tourism in the community (Wilson et al, 2012). They also mention how important it is for the rural tourism development and entrepreneurship to work together with the businesspersons, both directly and indirectly with tourism. Gartner (2005) claims that rural communities are aware of the change in the surroundings and actively work to organize and implement new models for development of rural tourism. The rural destinations have the tools they need, they just need to use them properly (Gartner, 2005).

The positive development of tourism is being threatened by negative events. In recent years the global tourism industry has experienced a lot of different crises and disasters such as terrorist attacks, political instability and natural disasters (Faulkner, 2001; Glaesser, 2003). The world is experiencing the power of nature and in latest years the world has seen major world crises such as epidemics. Outbreaks that were previously found and preserved, are today rapidly becoming a global problem (World Health Organization, 2018). In December 2019 the world

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experienced the beginning of the Corona pandemic that would later affect the whole world in just weeks. In mars, the Corona virus had successfully traveled to Europe and the USA where it became the epicenter of the pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020).

Faulkner (2001) mentions how natural and human disasters are not predictable or avoidable. Even though disasters are to some extent random and rare, there is no organization that is immune from such events. A crisis is defined as a “low-probability, high-consequence event that develops very rapidly and involves ambiguous situations with unknown causes and effects” (Aguilera, 1990; Dutton, 1986; Quarantelli, 1988 in Pearson, 2007) meaning a crisis can happen quickly, without you seeing it coming, and can sometimes have hard consequences. Each crisis is individual and affects organizations in various ways and therefore it is hard to search for a simple crisis management solution. (Laws, Prideaux & Chon, 2007, pp. 2)

According to Lee & Harrald (1999) crises and disasters can disrupt many parts of an organization, even the best prepared ones. Mathes, Gärtner and Czaplicki (1991) in Martens, Feldesz & Merten (2016) mention how one unlucky incident can destroy a good image of an organization. By experiencing a crisis or disaster of some type, organizations can create a way to minimize or avoid damage of such events through different crisis management strategies (Faulkner, 2001). Crisis management focuses on how to eliminate crisis situations and minimize the damage as much as possible. (Pearson, 2007, pp. 109). Unfortunately, not many organizations will survive this hard period (Pearson, 2007, pp. 121). Crisis responses makes organizations go into new changing environments where the organization has to change in order to survive. Old mental models and shared understandings are no longer applicable in the organization and needs to be updated (Pearson, 2007, pp. 120). To move forward and evolve the organizations need to develop new strategies to deal with the unknown future of upcoming crises (Pearson, 2007, pp. 121).

1.2 Problem statement The corona pandemic has caused many problems throughout the world but one sector that was specifically affected was the tourism sector (Yang, Zhang & Chen, 2020; Găitan, 2020). The cost of this virus has affected travel-related organizations in the whole world. Many organizations already have and continue to lay off employees and close temporarily. Some organizations even closed for good (Stefanie, Dillette & Alderman, 2020). Even though countries have taken measures like social distancing, face masks and quarantining, it has in the long run caused major economic losses (Găitan, 2020). South-east of Sweden, just a 2-hour drive south of Stockholm, is the location of Östergötland county. Östergötland is Sweden’s fifth largest region and offers great variety and a wide range of experiences and cities, see figure 1. Östergötland county is a place with a handful of rural destinations with many experiences. Rural tourism is not an easy activity to organize and regulate. However, it is important that the rural areas are well managed. The better a rural area is managed, the more successful it will be in handling tourists. Lane (2009) mentions how rural tourism consists of numerous small suppliers, different organizations and a lot of, often

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difficult, stakeholders. The organizations usually have the most important roles in the development of rural tourism. Unfortunately, with the spread of the corona virus the opportunity to travel in Sweden has been affected. Many organizations that are dependent on tourism have been affected by the changes and one can see a marginal decrease in Östergötland in bookings compared to 2019 (SCB, 2020). The methods organizations use today, attempting to avoid and resolve crises, are not applicable (Faulkner, 2001). The concept of crisis management in pandemics is relatively new and lacks a deeper understanding of it (Faulkner, 2001).

Figure 1: A map of Östergötland region describing the study area: the rural destinations of Östergötland.

Source: http://karta-over-sverige.blogspot.com/2011/04/karta-over-ostergotland-regionen.html

Faulkner (2001) argues that there is not much research on the effects of crisis and disasters and how they affect tourism organizations. It is important to create a problem-solving action plan that combines all stakeholders’ interests and activities when it comes to crisis management (Raina, Zhao and Gupta, 2010). By having an active crisis management plan an organization can easily predict and solve a future crisis by implementing, developing and preparing an action plan with accurate solution steps (Waller, Lei and Pratten, 2014). Kash & Darling (1998) mentions that a crisis management plan is required for organizations, but not many leaders recognize or take productive steps to actually manage and address these situations. Productive managers, that actually address and manage the difficult situations, have better response to crisis or disaster situations – both to the organization but also to the destination (Faulkner, 2001).

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http://karta-over-sverige.blogspot.com/2011/04/karta-over-ostergotland-regionen.html

1.3 Dissertation aim The purpose of this study is to exanimate how different organizations, in rural destinations in Östergötland county, manage, organize and plan for the side effects of the Corona crisis. The organizations that are exanimated in this study are organizations that are tourism related and are depending on tourism as a source of income.

1.4 Research questions • How did the Corona crisis affect organizations in different rural areas in Östergötland

county? • How can organizations reorganize and plan their organization to tackle the side effects

of the corona crisis?

1.5 Delimitations Delimitations are needed in order to organize the research area but also what the author considers to be appropriate to exanimate in a specific period of time. The research is delimited to the county of Östergötland. The rural areas that have been exanimated are located in the municipalities of Söderköping, Vadstena, Motala, Mjölby and Arkösund, which is an area in archipelago in the municipality Norrköping). The number of inhabitants in each municipality is Söderköping 14,600, Vadstena 7,438, Motala 43,650, Mjölby 27,808 and Arkösund 175 inhabitants (SCB.se). The study focuses on organizations that are dependent on tourism and that use tourism as their main source of income. Besides the interviews with local tourism organizations there has also been interviews with other organizations. Those organizations are not in the tourism sector but they are depending on tourism.

1.6 Dissertation outline This study is divided into six (6) chapters. The first (1) chapter is an introduction of a subject where there will be a background, purpose and research questions. The second (2) chapter is about the research method that the study has been using. This chapter is about research approach and all the steps that were necessary to take in order to gather all information. The third (3) chapter is the theoretical framework which includes the topics, crisis management, pandemics in tourism and strategic management. Also this is where earlier research will be presented so the reader can get the bigger picture. The fourth (4) chapter is about the empirical material like collected data. This chapter has been divided into themes so the reader can easily review the data and get a bigger understanding of it. The empirical results consist of interviews and field studies. The fifth (5) chapter is where the analysis is presented. This is where the collected data is combined with the theoretical framework like how crisis and strategic management, is and is not implemented into different organizations. The sixth (6) chapter is the last chapter and contains the conclusions and an idea for further research.

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2. Research Method This chapter focuses on the research method that the author has used: qualitative research. At first the author chooses to explain what research method they have used and why. Then the author explains how they have collected the data and what challenges they were up against. At the end the author goes into the ethical issues, reliability, validity and critique of their own chosen research method.

2.1 Research approach This study has conducted a qualitative research approach. The qualitative approach is mainly focused on words and the meaning of them and the quantitative approach is focused on numbers, usually statistics (Bryman, 2011, pp. 60; 185; 390). The qualitative approach is often connected to exploring and understanding the meaning of individuals or groups (Creswell & Creswell 2018, pp. 4) which is also the meaning of this study. This study has conducted a qualitative approach that is constructed of previous research and qualitative interviews. When looking at previous research, the researcher can examine how the same subject has been evaluated and how future research can learn from it. By adding in-depth interviews and comparing it to previous research the researcher can find new perspectives and solutions to the research problem and in turn get a deeper understanding about the research subject.

2.2 Research method: Interviews Denscombe (2016) explains how interviews differ from normal conversations. There are different types of interviews; structured, unstructured and semi structured. The semi structured interviews are often structured but it can happen that the researcher ads more questions and is more flexible. The unstructured and semi structured interviews are often adjusted around the respondent, it has more potential to evolve and the researcher often takes the interview as it goes (Denscombe, 2016, pp.268-269). This research will orient itself on semi structured personal interviews where the respondent will be asked questions and can freely speak their mind. It is important for this research that more questions can be added to deepen the answers and to fulfill the gap that exists. It is important to know that the researcher is there to gather facts and isn’t there for non-relevant discussions. The researcher must be informative and responsive because it is not only about the respondent feeling respected and invited, it’s also about gathering as much information as possible from the interview. Another aspect that the researcher must consider is that silence is a good thing, meaning the researcher should not be afraid of being silent. By choosing the semi structured interviews the researcher can write down relevant questions and then be flexible during the interview. The more flexible the questions are, the more flexible answers. By being flexible with the questions the researcher can ask follow up questions where the researcher can get deeper answers and get a bigger understanding. The reason for choosing telephone interviews is because face-to-face interviews were too risky due to the ongoing corona pandemic. All respondents were willing to do the

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interview through telephone due to the Swedish restrictions. This study accepted the terms of telephone interviews and chose not to jeopardize neither the researchers’ nor the respondent’s health.

2.3 Analysis method: thematic analysis There are many different data analysis methods that are used to analyze text data in qualitative research. However, this study has conducted a thematic analysis method which is focused on encoding qualitative information and finding themes in the qualitative data. This requires a specific code, which in this case can be a list of themes. The theme can be found in two ways, either directly in the observable information, also called manifest level, or later in the underlying of the information, also called latent level. These themes can be initially generated inductively from the information or deductively from theory and earlier research. Thematic analysis can be seen in many ways but in this research the thematic analysis will be used as a way of seeing, a way of analyzing qualitative material and a way of observing an organization and destination (Boyatzis 1998, pp. 4-5).

Andersson (2007) describes thematic content analysis (TCA) as a descriptive presentation of qualitative data. As mentioned before this type of analysis identifies different themes of the research and therefore can analyze its data by using what is found. Andersson (2007) mentions a few steps in the TCA that a researcher can follow when analyzing its data. The following steps have influenced this research:

1. Have multiple copies of the interview transcript and highlight the most important parts of the topic.

2. From the highlighted areas, take out units that are relevant to the research. Later combine different units together. Code each unit.

3. When the units have been coded, pile the units in different categories. If obvious information is missing write this down and identify these missing categories.

4. Go through the entire interview and observation and identify distinct units, grouping and regrouping similar and dissimilar units. Reliable the different categories if necessary. Use correct and relevant themes sparingly.

5. After a few days read the original transcript again and see what is missing.

6. Use the TCA on each transcript and later combine the different findings. (Andersson, 2007)

By using these following steps of Anderssons (2007) the researcher can manage to correctly analyze its empirical results.

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2.4 Data collection method This study will conduct a qualitative research design having telephone interviews with 15 organizations. The research started with doing research on the destination where the interviewer got a better insight on what type of organizations there are in the area and how dependent they are on tourism. After researching the destination, the interviewer started to conduct and formulate interview questions that could be adapted to each organization in the destination, no matter what type of organization it was. It is important for the interviewer that the research questions were clear and easy to understand. The researcher felt the need to have questions that are focusing on different themes so that the interviewer can talk freely and not get caught in the details. By having open and clear questions it allows the interviewer to keep up and ask additional questions if necessary. All respondents are anonymous and the gender is not relevant and will not be revealed. Because of the anonymity of the respondents and for the study to be easily read, the respondents have been given fictional names, see table 1.

Respondent Name

1 Red 2 Orange

3 Yellow 4 Green

5 Blue

6 Purple 7 Pink

8 Black

9 White 10 Grey

11 Beige 12 Brown

13 Bronze

14 Silver 15 Gold

Table 1: Fictional names of respondents

All interviews will be recorded with the respondents’ consent and transcribed after the interview. However, if a respondent doesn’t want to be recorded, then the researcher needs to listen closely while writing the answers down. It is important to let the respondent know that the recordings/interviews will not be shared with anyone and are only used for research purposes.

After the interview the researcher will go through the empirical material once again by listening to the recordings and transcribing the answers. In this part it is important for the interviewer to

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write down any new conclusions that were found during their interviews so it gets easier to analyze the results.

2.5 Validity and reliability There have been some discussions about the criteria for validity and reliability among the qualitative researchers. Bryman (2016, pp.383-384) mentions how reliability and validity are divided into four groups: external reliability, internal reliability, external validity and internal validity. External reliability is connected to the degree to which a research study can be replicated. According to different scientists’ qualitative studies are hard to replicate because of the impossibility to “freeze” a social setting. But it is possible to have a somewhat similar setting in the new research study. The external validity refers to how possible it is for the findings to be generalized in the social setting. However, this is a problem for the qualitative studies because of the tendency to conduct case studies and small samples. The internal validity is where there is a correspondent between the observations and the theoretical ideas they develop. This is a good thing for qualitative research. It tends to strengthen the study and helps the researcher develop congruence between the concept and observations (Bryman, 2016, pp.383-384).

Bryman (2016, pp. 384) claims there are other ways to evaluate the qualitative research, through trustworthiness and authenticity. Trustworthiness has four criteria that are connected to the earlier four groups in validity and reliability: (1) Credibility (internal validity), (2) Transferability (external validity), (3) Dependability (parallels reliability) and (4) Confirmability (parallels objectivity). When it comes to authenticity there are five criteria: (1) Fairness, (2) Ontology authenticity, (3) Educative authenticity, (4) Catalytic authenticity and (5) Tactical authenticity. By using these criteria’s, a researcher can easily search for the validity and reliability which find which the strengths and the weaknesses the study has and how to prevent it from happening again in the future studies (Bryman 2016, pp. 384-387).

2.6 Critique of qualitative research Qualitative research has been criticized for many years by the quantitative perspective and researchers. However, sometimes the qualitative researchers criticize their own research for their own good and therefore often say that qualitative research is often impressionistic and subjective. Often the qualitative research is reliable on the researcher’s point of view which can later be affecting the studies result and conclusion. The qualitative study is often difficult to replicate due to the different points of views of the researcher but also because the “social picture” is different. Another difficulty with qualitative research is the problem of generalization. Many critics claim that one or two settings cannot be generalized to others settings, it demands more and wider analyses. For example, 10 qualitative interviews of a population cannot be generalized to the whole population or a study on one company cannot be generalized to all companies. Another problem in the qualitative research is the lack of transparency. For example, how do they choose their respondents and why, but also when and how they did an observation (Bryman, 2016, pp. 398-399).

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2.7 Ethical issues The purpose of the research ethical principles is to provide the right setting and norms for researchers and the research participant. If it somehow develops a conflict the researcher has its rules and the research participant has its rights – this way a good balance can be created. The ethical principles are guidelines for the research project within the Subject Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. However, the researcher needs to think about the problems that can vary from case to case and are more like guidelines and not detailed regulations. The purpose is rather to give the researcher base to its own reflections and responsibilities. (Vetenskapsrådet 2017, pp. 5-6)

Vetenskapsrådet (2017, pp. 6-14) acknowledges that when it comes to the research ethical principles the basic individual protection requirement is specified into four general research requirements: (1) The information requirement, (2) The consent requirement, (3) The confidentiality requirement and (4) The practice requirement. Each of these requirements have specific rules and guidelines.

The information requirement means that the information that the researcher gives to the respondent needs to be detailed and informational. When doing the interviews it is important that the researcher present the research and its purpose for the respondent. In this way the respondent will be aware of what the interview will be about and how it will go down (Vetenskapsrådet 2017, pp.7).

The second requirement is the consent requirement. The first guideline in the consent requirement is described as the researcher needs to have a consent for each respondent and if the respondents are minors, they need to have consent from parents/guardians. If there is no consent from the respondent the interview cannot take place. The second guideline in the consent requirement is that the respondent can easily decide if they want to be a part of the interview and can whenever cancel their involvement. It is important that the researcher informs the respondent that this is possible. The third guideline in the consent requirement is when the respondent has canceled the interview there should not be any more pressure from the researcher. When the respondent has canceled their involvement, their decision is final Vetenskapsrådet 2017, pp.9-10).

The third requirement is the confidentiality requirement. The first guideline in the confidentiality requirement is that all people involved in the project have confidentiality obligation and the staff should sign a confidentiality agreement for such information. The second guideline is that if the information is recorded or stored then other people do not have the authority to it. It should be stored in a way that it is impossible for outsiders to access the information (Vetenskapsrådet 2017, pp.13).

The fourth requirement is the practice requirement meaning that information about individuals is only gathered for research purposes and is not, under any circumstances, borrowed for other non-scientific purposes. It is important that the interview is carefully handled and that the

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respondent feels safe that their information is not handled by a third party (Vetenskapsrådet 2017, pp.14).

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3. Theoretical Framework This chapter focuses on a literature review of crisis management with relevant theories. The previous research presents a few studies about crisis management and how they have evolved till today. In addition to this, there is a presentation of different models and theories where one can read about different perspectives of crisis management.

3.1 Earlier research All the different crises vary in their seriousness and the difficulty to overcome the crisis vary but there are some guidelines that are common in these situations. First it is important to step in and deal right away with the crisis. Secondly it is important that the people that are affected are well taken care of and get the help that they need. Third is to minimize, as much as possible, the damage that may result in bad publicity and loss of custom. Fourth minimize the difficulties with the company's suppliers and business partners. It is important that the managers develop long time resolutions but it is understandable that the solution may not be as apparent as the crisis. (Laws, Prideaux & Chon, 2007) It is good to recognize that the normal patterns of communication, organization and leadership are severely damaged in the aftermath of a crisis. (Laws et al 2007)

A crisis can cause serious damages to tourism, threatening the national economy and the livelihood of many at the destination (Sausmarez, 2007). There is enough evidence to suggest that one of the most vulnerable industries to crises is the tourism industry (Santana, 2004). When it comes to crises it does not matter how big or small the organization is, it can affect all organizations no matter size. According to Sausmarez (2007) crises are classified as either natural or man-made. Natural crises are identified as environmental like hurricanes and earthquakes. Man-made crises are on the other hand identified as something the humankind has a hand in for example industrial accidents and terrorist events.

Sausmarez (2007) mentions how Siomkos (1992) classifies crises according to the length of the pre-crisis period. Siomkos (1992) mentions how there are two types of crises; discrete and continuous crises. Discrete crises happen without any warning for example a tsunami or earthquake. Continuous crises are described as a long period consequence where there will be a period of time until the damage appears such as financial or political crises. However, Prideaux et al (2003) in Sausmarez (2007) mentions that there are some problems with the classification of discrete and continuous crises. Mainly that discrete crises can be continuous but the warning signs are not recognized as such. But also, that the time frame for the continuous crises isn’t detailed and therefore crises like global warming could be indicators of an extremely long future crisis in the tourism industry.

Pauchant & Mitroff (1992) in Sausmarez (2007) mentions how the crises should be viewed by the triggering events and not by what causes it. A natural disaster is not a crisis itself but a trigger. The real crisis is the “environmental crisis” or “crisis for tourism in the area” that the

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natural disaster leads to. Pauchant & Mitroff (1992) in Sausmarez (2007) mentions the “Foot and mouth”- disease in 2001 in the UK where the trigger was the contamination of animal feed by imported meat and not the disease itself. Pauchant & Mitroff (1992) continues and talks about dividing the crisis concept into two terms: endocrisis and exocrisis. Endocrisis is when the trigger comes from within the sector and is the result of a steady change in the status quo. When the crisis is triggered by an outside force, outside of the sector, it is called an exocrisis. However, one single event can bring a destination both an endocrisis and exocrisis.

Santana (2004) mentions a study by Cassedy (1992) on three major tourism offices dealing with different crises; environment crises, political crises and terror crises. These crises rapidly cripled the tourism in each destination and made it harder for organizations to survive. Cassidy (1992) mentions that it does not matter what type of crisis it is, they could all be just as devastating (Santana, 2004). Pearson (2007, pp. 108) also talked about how a crisis affects a destination and its tourism. In an outbreak of Ebola, the destination Sierra Leone decreased with 50% of its arrivals. Unfortunately, a crisis has many devastating losses for both the surrounding organizations in the area but also for communities and tourism. Because of this there has been a growth in interest when it comes to crisis management (Pearsson, 2007, pp.108). Sausmarez (2007) did research on Malaysia and the Asian financial crisis. The study showed that it is difficult to identify appropriate crisis indicators and there are numerous issues that remain resolved. Suasmarez (2007) also found that tourism is vulnerable to many crises and that it is difficult to find a crisis management plan that suits each part of the tourist sector. However, Suasmarez (2007) found that regular monitoring of tourism trends helps with keeping the sector healthy. By having good media relations, diversification of tourism products and a competitive travel trade the destination can keep on working on a rapid recovery and at the same time make them more prepared for the next crisis (Sausmarez, 2007).

3.2 Crisis management Each crisis is individual and affects tourism in various ways and therefore it is hard to search for a simple crisis management solution. (Laws, Prideaux & Chon, 2007, pp. 2) All different crises vary in their seriousness and difficulty to overcome the crisis but there are some guidelines that are common in these situations. First it is important to step in and deal right away with the crisis. Secondly it is important that the people that are affected are well taken care of and get the help that they need. Thirdly minimize, as much as possible, the damage that may result in bad publicity and loss of custom. Fourthly minimize the difficulties with the company's suppliers and business partners. It is important that the managers develop long time resolutions but it is understandable that the solution may not be as apparent as the crisis. (Laws, Prideaux & Chon, 2007, pp. 3)

The crisis management has been broken down into three time periods: potential crisis, latent crisis and acute crisis. The potential crisis is when one can predict a future crisis event for example by having specific tools that forecast a hurricane or tsunami. This way an organization can prepare themselves for the crisis even if the crisis may not affect them as hard as they think. A latent crisis is when the crisis evolves slower and a series of threats occur in the future. It is

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important to identify them in time, in order to prepare for them in case they become reality. A latent crisis is a crisis that is already happening and is at a critical stage. When it comes to the acute crisis one can see the destructive effect it has and can be perceived and measured. Depending on what crisis it is, it happens at different speeds (Sausmarez, 2007). Faulkner (2001) mentions how disasters are “low probability events” meaning that the chance of them actually happening are low. However, that does not mean that tourism destinations are immune to them. A good management can avoid crises to some degree but it is important to incorporate strategies to tackle these unexpected events which the organization has little or no control over. It is also good to recognize that the normal patterns of communication, organization and leadership are severely damaged in the aftermath of a crisis. (Laws et al 2007, pp 4)

Faulkner (2001) and Ritchie (2004) have developed models for tourism disaster management that can be applicable to any destination and any disaster. Faulkner (2001) explains the difference between “crisis” and “disaster”. The definition of a crisis is that the root event is self-inflicted meaning that it is a situation where management has problems to adapt to change. The definition of a disaster however is defined as a sudden unpredictable change where there can be little or no control over. Laws et al (2007) described the crisis as an unexpected result of failures caused by human action. The definition of disaster is however linked to a catastrophic change that can only be handled and responded to after the event has already happened.

3.3 Crisis organizing Different crisis situations make organization swiftly make sense of turbulent surroundings. It is obvious that routines that have worked during normal times usually fail during crisis situations. To have a good crisis resolution organization need to get new information and adapt it rapidly, old routines and familiar information are not adequate for dealing with crises (Pearson, 2007, pp.108). Even Pearson (2007) defined the crisis as a highly ambiguous event that will result in change that could be good or bad. When researching crises and crisis planning, they typically include four elements: crisis management plan, management team, communication and post-crisis evaluation. These are also mentioned by Ritchie (2004). Ritchie (2004) has set out a strategic framework for planning and managing different crises and disasters for both public and private sectors. The model shows how a strategic management can be beneficial to tourism organizations and managers. The model also explains the anatomy of a crisis/disaster:

1. Pre-event stage: action taken to prevent disasters 2. Prodromal: Apparent a crisis/disaster is about to hit 3. Emergency: Incident hits: damage limitation and action needed 4. Intermediate: Short term needs dealt with; restoring services 5. Long term (recovery): Longer term clean up; repair reinvestment; post mortem 6. Resolution: Normal or improved state created

The model also highlights three important phases: prevention and planning, implementation and evaluation and feedback. Every stage has different tasks that one needs to reach. The

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prevention and planning phase is where it is possible to create a strategy and plan for the crisis or disaster. The implementation face is where the strategy and plan are required to deal with the impacts of the crisis or disaster. The evaluation and feedback phase are called a “long time recovery”. This is a resolution phase where one can plan and prevent future crises or disasters to have a shorter recovery time for destinations and organizations. Ritchie (2004) has considered these steps to be the most common attributes in managing different crises and disasters, see figure 3.

Figure 3: Own illustration, crisis and disaster management (Ritchie, 2004)

3.3.1 Crisis/disaster prevention and planning

In the beginning of a crisis or disaster, private sectors and managers try to develop strategies and plan to stop or limit the impacts of a crisis or disaster. Even though many organizations have strategies and plan to help with the crisis management they still can not prevent a crisis from happening. The challenge is really to have strategies on handling the crisis than to eliminate the crisis (Ritchie, 2004). According to Heath (1998) having a good plan helps reduce the risk, time waste, poor resource management and reduce impacts of the crisis in the first place. By scanning the environment on the political, economic, social and technological, it can help gather information on what trends and impact the crisis has on the organization. Kash & Darling (1998) mention some tools that organizations can use is strategic forecasting, contingency planning, issues analysis and scenario analysis. Strategic forecasting means that the organization can predict and forecast potential crisis and disaster situations and can from there implement strategies and plans. Contingency planning is a good way for organizations to act fast and effectively. With a contingency plan the organization can easily implement alternative plans and resolve crisis situations quickly. Issues analysis is much like contingency planning but instead it alerts managers to trends in the surrounding environment which can be of use in the organizational developing strategies. However, when it comes to natural disasters the authors mention risk analysis and hazard mapping and integrated emergency planning (Ritchie, 2004).

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3.3.2 Strategic implementation

If managers in an organization are aware of their surroundings and impending crisis or disaster they can easily detect how to store or minimize the damage. With proactive scanning and having planning procedures they are able to implement strategies that is suited for the crisis or disaster and prevent it from happening. But this phase can be complicated and chaotic and therefore requires an organization to be flexible when it comes to: - implementing the right strategies - implementing effective communication and control - implementing and controlling resources to effectively deal with the crisis - collaboration with the different stakeholders in the tourism industry and other sectors.

(Ritchie, 2004).

Kash & Darling (1998) mention that even though a crisis management is necessary not all managers adopt this strategy into their organization. Managers who are productive with their crisis management will be in a better position to evolve and control the crisis. By introducing strategic evaluation and strategic control into the organization the organization can limit the damage caused by a crisis or disaster. The organization also needs to introduce strategic options quickly so that the organization can have control over the situation and how it will evolve in the future. However, there are situations where a crisis can’t be dealt with for example if the crisis is spread worldwide (Ritchie, 2004).

Implementing a communication strategy is important for the organization because it helps limit the damage. Also the development of crisis communication strategy including use of a public relations plan meaning that help from media and other channels is only good for the company. The marketing part of the company is also important (Ritchie, 2004). As Coombs (1999) said “if the crisis team does not fill the void, someone else will”.

Through a crisis it is important for an organization or a destination to reorganize their resources: it can be anything from financial or human resources. The tourism and travel industry is characterized by small or micro organizations that rely on bigger organizations to provide them with support during a crisis or disaster. They could also rely on the government for crisis strategies (Ritchie, 2004).

Another important part of the crisis management are the stakeholders and how to collaborate with them. In order to plan for a crisis an organization needs to work with key internal and external stakeholders in the tourism industry. The internal stakeholders are often employees, managers or shareholders while the external are tourists, industry sectors and government agencies. It is important that these stakeholders can work together in case of a crisis or disaster however that may not always be easy (Ritchie, 2004).

3.3.3 Resolution, evaluation and feedback

The final step to dealing with crisis and disasters is to evaluate the whole destination or organization after a crisis has occurred. The goal for an organization is try to control the crisis

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and try to stop or reduce it in the future. But crises and disasters are complex and impact can make permanent damage on both the organization and destination. However, some changes can even be good and beneficial for the organization or destination (Ritchie, 2004). Faulkner (2001) mentions how some crises can even have transformational connotations meaning they have the ability to change a destination or organization for the good. Also, having feedback on a crisis can help the planning and prevention process in the future if a new crisis occurs (Ritchie, 2004).

3.4 Crisis management preparation and prevention Every organization needs to have its own customized crisis management preparation with its own organization objectives, time frames, and their crisis management capability. The following exercises, see figure 4, are an example of real life experiences and techniques that have been proven successful in various crisis situations (Pearson, 2007, pp. 319).

Figure 4: Own illustration (Pearson, 2007)

3.4.1. Transitioning into crisis mode

It is important for an organization to make the transition to crisis mode successfully by reacting quickly and effectively in the early stages of the crisis but also be prepared for unexpected events during this period of stress. This step consists of mobilization of the crisis management training (CMT) (Pearson, 2007, pp.319). This means that the organization needs to be asking themselves: which actions, steps and reactions do we need to be taking into consideration? Does everyone in the organization know what needs to be done and how? These questions need to be answered and acknowledged before moving forward into the crisis management process (Pearson, 2007, pp. 320).

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3.4.2. Know the basic elements of crisis management

The basic elements of crisis management are to mainly avoid errors. To make the process easier and to avoid errors, it is good to demonstrate the basics of crisis management. This means having different goals and plans for the organizations that the staff can learn from by doing different crisis exercises, by dealing with errors and avoiding them. By doing this the organization can get a bigger understanding on how everything goes around and from there develop new techniques and skills on how to tackle crises easier. The exercises are there to make the staff in the organization more comfortable and prepared if a crisis occurs. For best possible outcome it is important for the staff to know the different challenges that can occur in the organization and from there train to avoid errors. This will help the organization as a whole to stay motivated and keep on learning (Pearson, 2007, pp. 320).

3.4.3. Teamwork

Knowing the goals and lessons will not automatically make the organization work like a team. It is important to remember that there is a whole company to save from the crisis, not just one person. By making everyone participate and work through it, participants can get a sense of team building. It is also good to make the participants change roles so they can better understand each other (Pearson, 2007, pp. 320).

3.4.4. Preparation and support for decision-making

Decision-making is an important process in crisis management. The important decisions are examined in detail and there are always other alternatives. For example, one experience can be used to develop various decision trees – like multiple options. Certain exercises can be built by using different historical events and crises. The positive side of this kind of exercise is the change of focus and making the team more involved. It is important to look from all angles when it comes to crisis situations. By doing so you include the roles and objectives of the most difficult stakeholders and appreciate the real nature of a crisis (Pearson, 2007, pp. 321-22).

3.4.5. Reaction to the unexpected

Crises are unpredictable and can surprise an organization. It is for this reason important to analyze the “nature of surprise”. Instead of reusing old scenarios and crisis management exercises, much more value and training is made by stimulating surprising scenarios and therefore analyzing the CMT reactions. It is good to remember that a surprise is never new, it always has roots (Pearson, 2007, pp. 323-24).

3.5 Summary As previously mentioned there is enough evidence to suggest that one of the most vulnerable industries to crises is the tourism industry (Santana, 2004). The real crisis does not live within the crisis itself but rather what the crisis will bring to the world after its happening. When it comes to crises it does not matter how big or small the organization is, it can affect all organizations no matter size. All different crises vary in their seriousness and difficulty to overcome the crisis but there are some guidelines that are common in these situations.

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When researching crises and crisis planning, they typically include four elements: crisis management plan, crisis management team, crisis communication and post-crisis evaluation. The model also highlights three important phases: prevention and planning, implementation and evaluation and feedback. Ritchie (2004) has considered these steps to be the most common attributes when it comes to crisis management.

Another important part of crisis management is crisis management preparation. Every organization needs to have its own customized crisis management preparation plan. The five steps to crisis prevention are: transitioning, basic elements of crisis, teamwork, preparation and support for decision-making and reaction to the unexpected. To make the best out of the crisis it is important to have regular meetings with the organization and discuss how to move forward, assess effective strategies and review the development of the crisis or disaster (Ritchie, 2004).

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4. Empirical results This chapter focuses on the empirical results of the fifteen (15) interviews with local organizations in rural destinations, see table 1. The chapter starts with explaining the crisis situation in Sweden over all and follows with interviews with the organizations. The relevant themes that have been found throughout the interviews are planning for crises, impacts of a crisis, organization crises and future tourism and crisis development.

The Corona pandemic has caused a major crisis throughout the world and everyone has been affected by it. As many other parts of the world Sweden has introduced restrictions into different regions which has caused many organizations into survival-mode, especially organizations that are depending on tourism. Figure 4 is a visual image of how the corona pandemic has affected the visiting nights in Östergötland from period april - september 2020 compared to 2019. As you can see in the image there has been a decrease in visiting nights which also has meant that less people are visiting the destination.

Figure 4: Visiting nights in Östergötland (Source: SCB)

Sweden has compared to other Nordic countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland) had a higher rate of cases and deaths, see figure 5. The Nordic countries have had different strategies on how to terminate the virus and because of that the virus has spread differently in different countries. The statistics in figure 5 show that Sweden has the most cases and deaths in relation to the population. The capacity in Sweden’s medical care has been badly embattled and unfortunately has led to prioritizing among patients. There have been many restrictions like closed schools, borders, restaurants, boutiques and salons in the whole Nordic region except for Sweden. Sweden’s approach to the Corona pandemic has been to urge people to socially distance and take own responsibility (ECDC, 2020; SCB, 2020)

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Figure 5: Cases and Deaths of the Corona pandemic in the Nordic countries from 2020/04/01 until 2020/10/04 2020 (Source: ECDC)

4.1 Presentation of respondents Respondent Red is tourism and business manager in the municipality of Söderköping, Sweden. Reds job is to get the best possible resources for the business life for the city. They mention how important it is for the tourism business life to evolve and grow so that local actors can manage their organization in the best possible way.

“It is a very wide job and, my team and I, are very few people who do very much for the city.”

- Respondent Red

Respondent Orange is a camping and hostel owner. They have been running the organization since 2000. Respondent Orange mentions how tourism is a huge part of the company and that they are depending on it to thrive every year. Respondent Yellow works as a reception manager. S/he does everything when it comes to the reception, booking, marketing, etc. S/he mentions how important tourism is for the hotel and mentions how they are dependent on tourists.

“Summer-time is when the city is alive, and there are companies here that are surviving on its tourists”

- Respondent Yellow

Respondent Green owns a bookstore that attracts tourists during the summers different with events and festivities. Green has been running the organization since 2013 and it is considered to be the oldest bookstore in Sweden and originally it opened in 1815. Green mentions how the summer season is a big part of their organization. They mention how the main visitors are tourists that come with Göta Kanal (boat canal) but also from other cities that are close by. Respondent Green mentioned how important tourism is for their organization. They mention how dependent they are of tourists and their purchases and without them it has been hard to survive.

“It’s a small town, but with a cozy environment.”

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- Respondent Green

Respondent Blue works as a restaurant business manager. They have responsibility over staff, organization and purchases. The organization has been thriving since 1978 and they have worked there their whole life. They talk about how important tourism is and how it is a big influencer to the company, without it there would probably not have been any company.

Respondent Purple owns a boutique in two different cities. S/he took over the company 2005 and has worked there ever since. Purple mentions how the company is affected by tourism meaning that they plan the whole company around it. Respondent purple mentions how they make a living from tourism and its livelihood. They mention how there is higher pressure during the summer because of the high flow of tourists. However respondent Purple mentions how this pandemic period will be different and they are hopeful for the best.

Respondent Pink is a café owner and attracts tourists from all over the world. They are located in the marina and have a high flow of customers during the whole day. They bought the café not many months ago hoping it will be a great opportunity due to the location. However, it did not turn out the way they wanted it and now they are worried. Pink mentions how there haven't been many tourists this summer and that they don’t know if it is because of the pandemic or because they have changed the name of the café and are new to the city. Pink mentions that she has seen how important tourism is. The more tourists there are the more customers there are. She mentions how more customers indicates more money which in turn keeps them going.

Respondent Black owns a bed and breakfast that has customers during the summers but runs a bit slower during the winters. Black mentions how they are dependent on tourism and that without it there is no flow in the city. Even though it has been a hard summer Black mentions how grateful she is for the tourists that have actually visited their bed and breakfast. Black is hoping for a better summer 2021 with better help from the government.

Respondent Beige is a museum business manager Beige handles everything from bookings, guides, managing the castle, guest manager, etc. They usually are open between April and August but this season as many other companies and tourism attractions they have different opening hours and days.

Respondent Grey owns a boutique in the city center where they sell home textiles, everything from curtains to pillows. They are open all year but are profiting mostly on the summers. Grey mentions how there have been less people visiting and that most customers are local ones.

Respondent Brown is a bed and breakfast owner. This season there hasn’t been many bookings and they have struggled a lot. Brown mentions how they are living and breathing tourism and unfortunately this season has been anything but normal. However, they are hoping for a better season next year.

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Respondent Silver works as a museum operation manager. The job can be anything from organizational structures to managing the museum. Silver also mentions how pandemic made the museum close for three months and that because of the restrictions it has been hard managing the organization.

Respondent Gold runs a tourism organization that unfortunately has been closed during 2020 because of the pandemic. They have a huge responsibility in educating tourists but they are also important to the Swedish infrastructure. They mention how not having any tourists this season has been hard but they are focusing on renovations so that next year would be better.

Respondent Bronze works as a hotel guest manager. Bronze mentions that it hasn’t been hard to manage this year’s tourism and guests to the hotel. There have been different offers and people have been vacationing at home. We have high season six (6) weeks during the summers and it is an archipelago hotel with possibility to outdoor activities which has been a huge help during these times.

Interview Name Profession/Org Description Work experience

Interview 1 Red Public stakeholder (Municipality)

Tourism & business manager

1-2 years

Interview 2 Orange Private stakeholder (Camping)

Business manager 20+ years

Interview 3 Yellow Private stakeholder (Hotel)

Reception manager 2-3 years

Interview 4 Green Public stakeholder (Bookstore)

Business manager 7 years

Interview 5 Blue Private stakeholder (Restaurant)

Business, staff and purchase manager

40+ years

Interview 6 Purple Private stakeholder (Shopping)

Store owner 15 years

Interview 7 Pink Private stakeholder (Restaurant)

Café owner >1 year

Interview 8 Black Private stakeholder (B&B)

B&B manager 20+ years

Interview 9 White Private stakeholder (Bakery)


Interview 10 Grey Private stakeholder (Shopping)

Store Owner 1-2 years

Interview 11 Beige Public stakeholder (Tourism & Event)

Business, staff and marketing manager

8 year

Interview 12 Brown Private stakeholder (Hotel)

Hotel manager 10+ years

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Interview 13 Silver Public stakeholder (Tourism & Event)

Business manager 1-2 years

Interview 14 Gold Public stakeholder (Tourism organization)


Interview 15 Bronze Private stakeholder (Hotel)

Hotel manager 1-2 years

Table 1: Respondents and their attributes

4.2 Planning for crises Respondent Blue, the restaurant business manager, talks about how important the planning is in situations like a pandemic. Blue talks about how actors have chosen to put a hold on many events during the high season and many people wanting to visit. Respondent Blue also mentions that rural cities are depending on tourists. The rural destination Söderköping is established around the Göta Canal and the Archipelago. Respondent Blue continues saying that almost 95% of our visitors are day visitors, so they mention that they strive for having more over night stay-tourists. On the other hand, Söderköping municipality is good at planning year-round cultural events, smaller cultural events, which are primarily aimed at residents. However, because of the Corona pandemic there will not be as many audiences as following years because of restrictions.

Respondent Yellow mentions how the planning is difficult and they always hope for more people. Usually when there are no crises they plan for big holidays and summer season but this year around is difficult. Respondent Yellow also mentioned that when the country came out with the 500-person restrictions, the organization plummeted from one day to the next and they lost well over 40% in bookings and all conferences were cancelled. Yellow explained that after that day, it has raged heavily and today there is almost nothing they can work with.

Respondent Green, Blue and Purple all said that planning for seasons come naturally but planning for crises is another sort of planning. They had never in their careers experienced a pandemic and therefore had a hard time planning for it. Respondent Blue said that he does not think many actors know how to plan for a pandemic so many of us just wait for the government to give directions.

“…we did not know if we were going to be open or not. But later when we were open we did not know how many guests we would have, or if we would even have guests at all…”

– Respondent Blue

The planning process wasn’t an easy one, said Blue. One day you ask yourself should we just keep closed and then the other day you want to keep it open. They did not have the courage to fire more people because of the uncertainty. Respondent Blue also said that they have had a lot of problems with guests fighting about restrictions, social distancing, etc.

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“…it will be really great when this summer ends…” – Respondent Blue

Respondent Pink, the cafe owner, mentions how they haven’t planned much for the season because they just opened. However, if they manage this season many things need to be planned for the next one. Respondent Black, the bed and breakfast owner, however has an ongoing plan for every season but did not plan for this crisis. Black mentions how they obviously have adopted the government's restrictions but other than that there have not been many changes. Respondent Brown, the bed and breakfast owner, mentions that it has been very hard to plan for the summer and overall for the organization to stay normal. During these times it was very hard to even plan day to day they mention. Respondent Brown, the bed and breakfast owner, said that everything they did was according to the restrictions and that they overall don’t have any crisis plan.

Respondent Silvers, the operational museum manager, mentions that they have a two-season organization where the high season is on all school holidays and throughout the summer. During the high season you can see everything from shows, activities to children and young people, etc.

“Normally during the high season, we usually have around 2000 pruners a day but this year it was about 300 due to various restrictions.”

– Respondent Silver

Respondent Gold mentions how hard it is to be open for tourists when the government has restrictions they need to follow. S/he mentions how they don’t want to risk people’s wellbeing just to be open. However, they are still working every Saturday and Sunday during the summer. Respondent Gold mentions how they used this free time for renovations and to have everything done by summer 2021.

Respondent Bronze, the guest manager, mentioned that they didn’t really have a plan for this pandemic crisis or plan for any crises. They just take things slow and manage by having different offers for guests. They said that they have been saved by the local tourists in Sweden. Respondent Bronze mentioned how many people have started vacationing at home which meant a lot more customers for the Swedish hotels.

Respondent Grey, the boutique owner, mentions how they don’t really plan for the organization in that way. Söderköping is a summer city and of course we are dependent on tourism. The summer season is where we make the most of our money and we are of course expecting tourists every year. However, this year was hard and we did not know the outcome of it.

Respondent White was carefree about the situation. They mention how they of course are depending on the summer season and that this year has been their best. They mention that the business is going so good and that it has not been this good in 10 years. White mentions how

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they plan each year for the next season. They have seasonal employees and they need to plan how the business will continue going.

Respondent Beige, the museum manager, mentions how they didn’t have a crisis plan but they have goals and plans for the season. But this season has been hard to plan because of the specific circumstances.

“This season has been like a roller coaster” - Respondent Beige

4.3 Impact of a crisis Respondent Red, tourism and business manager, claims that many actors have been affected by this crisis and it is moving very fast. Tourist actors don’t have the time or the effort to plan for the organization and many of them are already in reconstruction or even in bankruptcy. Also in rural destinations many actors are very small (2-3 people per organization) and that makes it even harder because you don’t have the time to build something new like solutions, marketing plans or crisis plans.

Respondent Orange, the camping and hostel manager, talks about how the booking reservations have gone down 51% in just 2 months. They claim that it is not going good and they don’t think it will get any better. Respondent Yellow claims the same, that reservations are getting cancelled and people are not booking anything new. Respondent Green and White are both saying that this is a hard period and that they expected it to get this bad. They mention how they did not have many customers and that business has not been going good. However, they are hopeful that it will get better.

Respondent Pink and Gold all mentions that they have been severely impacted by the pandemic and that they are hoping for a better season next year. Respondent Pink, the cafe owner, mentions how they opened a month after the 50-person restriction came and that it has been hard managing a café that has a place for more than 70 people. Gold mentions that they are the ones that are afraid for people. Gold means that if they don’t take responsibility, who will? As mentioned earlier Gold have shut down their organization for 2020 and focused on renovations. Respondent Gold is hoping to open 2021 again so people can come back and have great experiences.

Respondent Bronze, Black and Brown are experiencing the same effects in this crisis. They mention how difficult it is to run a hotel during these difficult times but by planning and getting good offers they can lure customers. Respondent Black, the bed and breakfast owner, has been struggling with the restrictions and keeping clean. Black talked about that even if they follow restrictions tourists or guests are sceptic and therefore they choose not to come/book a room.

Respondent Silver, the operational museum manager, has been affected by the pandemic as many other organizations however they are financed by the government and have not suffered

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as much. Respondent Silver said that of course there are differences when you compare it to earlier seasons but we are still grateful for being able to open in June and at least have the rest of the summer open. As said earlier there were not many people in the museum because of the restrictions but we still have managed to adopt.

“We learned a big lesson…” – Respondent Pink

Respondent Grey and White both mention how they were affected by the Corona pandemic. Respondent White mentioned that this season was good and that it hasn’t been this good in a long time. However, it demands an organization to plan ahead. Respondent Grey, the boutique owner, mentioned however that it was hard this season and that they were severely affected. Respondent Grey mentioned how it was hard to make orders and that they did not know how much they could order. Respondent Grey also mentioned that in their business they expect people all year but they make the most of their summers so even if there aren't many tourists in the other seasons they still manage. This year however was different and without the tourists it was hard to survive.

Respondent Beige, the museum manager, responded that they are proud of how they have dealt with the crisis. They have meaningful conversations and are taking it day by day. As many other companies they have followed the recommendations and unfortunately they haven’t had as many customers. We have kept our distance and made sure that everyone else also did. But they said it wasn’t that hard because they have very large rooms in the castle and they only counted people as they went in and had guards in every room.

4.4 Organization crisis method Respondent Red, tourism and business manager, mention that they have no plan. But they mention that they still were one of the municipalities in the region that was quickest to decide on the few and small measures we could come up with. But Red mentions that there was certainly not a ready plan for a pandemic outbreak or plans for tourism and business. Red also mentions that they have had a very good collaboration within our regional network and the municipality - both representatives from tourism and business. They have weekly conferences where they share their experiences of what went well, what they can improve and how to work. Red mentions how they have worked fast and that they are always on their toes. Lastly respondent Red mentions that the most important thing to remember is to listen to the government and make decisions out of the restrictions but still have in mind that some of these companies are personal so you need to have compassion. Some people have gone into personal bankruptcy.

”We see that there can be many who lose their jobs and homes, etc.” – Respondent Red

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Respondent Orange, the camping and hostel manager, said that they will do small changes at first. They will open for “test” and see how things go and after that make more permanent decisions. Orange mentions that they do not know what will happen in the future when it comes to Corona and therefore this way is better. Respondent Orange is hoping for lighter restrictions. Orange said that there are two scenarios: best case is as it is today: less staff, more offers and major adjustments and worst case: to have a small part open or not open at all. Their main strategy is to adapt the business to the number of visitors and then takes one day at a time.

“We have to work according to different scenarios and if it is completely closed, how should we behave then?”

– Respondent Orange

Respondent Yellow mentions that given the situation they live in today, the challenge is just to survive the day. They can develop a lot both on the company side (conferences) and private side (private customers). The private side could have more offers, different packages that lure new customers like older people, students, families, etc. The company side can have different offers to conferences (and follow restrictions). People usually book their visits a long time in advance but today unfortunately they are at 50% in cancellations and new bookings are going slow.

Respondent Blue, the restaurant business manager, mentions how a pandemic was never on the map and that they never could have planned for this. They don’t have a plan or even a strategy to tackle this situation. The method they did go for was to see how the situation evolved and plan from there. Respondent Green and Purple have the similar approach and are planning as time goes.

“I’m just trying to keep my head above water” - Respondent Purple

Respondents Beige, Grey, White, Black, Bronze, Brown and Pink said that the main method was to always keep clean and to stay informed from the government and municipality. White mentions how guests could move the furniture around to sit next to each other and not care about restrictions. This meant that respondent White and their team had to separate people and tell them that it was not okay. Respondent Beige, the museum manager, have also followed the health authority and the advice that comes from there - unfortunately this has meant that there have not been as many visitors during certain periods, but overall they think the season has gone very well. They have kept their distance and it is also easy to do this as there are many large halls and spaces so it is just that they keep track of how many people enter and that we reduce the intake of people in the building. However respondent Black, Bronze, Brown and Pink did not have any specific method or plan on how they actually went through the crisis.

Respondent Silver, the operational museum manager, however mentions how their organization is financed by the state and therefore they have a lot of guidelines and plans for different crises. Respondent Silver also mentioned that they have crisis guidelines for the whole

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organization. Respondent Silver goes after this crisis guideline and has routine checks every month to see if anything has changed and how. They mention how important it is to have a model. They mean that without it an organization can have many problems and will be left in shock when the crisis occurs. However, they say that they understand that smaller companies that aren’t financed by the state that don’t have a crisis plan but in order for them to survive they need to have a plan for every crisis that can ever happen.

“…who would have thought that a pandemic would occur, especially in Sweden where nothing bad ever happens”

– Respondent Silver 4.5 Future tourism and crisis development Respondent Red, the tourism and business manager, is very optimistic about the future however a future crisis development plan is not in sight. Red explains that they have learned a lot from this crisis but adapting a plan to this little organization will not be helpful. Red continues with the topic “outdoor activities” meaning they will try to create more outdoor activities. Red also talks about how a crisis management plan is not optimal for the organizations in a rural destination because they usually are very small and have few employees. Red mentions how they will get back on feet next season hopefully when the crisis is over.

Respondent Orange, the camping and hostel manager, talks about changes. Orange mentions how they think that there will be a lot of changes when it comes to tourism. They don’t know how it will be in the future but they are sure that nothing is going to be the same. They explained that as of today they don’t know if they even are going to make it until next year but they hope for it. Crisis management and methods are needed however they think that the government should help them with that.

Respondent Blue, the restaurant business manager, will continue to live and adapt. They have opened but they are very restrictive. Respondent Blue mentions how they will listen to the restrictions and develop a plan for the next year. However, having a crisis plan is not on the map. They claim that their organization is too small to even adapt a crisis management plan.

Respondent Purple, the boutique owner, mentions how they will struggle but are hoping for the best. Respondent White mentions the same thing. They are very optimistic but they are aware of the situation and are prepared for the worst. Respondent Beige, the museum manager, mentions that the future is bright and they are not going down without a fight. They see a lot of opportunities and are also hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

Respondent Pink, the cafe owner, talks about their survival and 2021. They mention that it was hard running an organization in Corona pandemic times and that they are hoping they will not go into bankruptcy now that winter time starts. They will still follow their restrictions but adapting a “crisis plan” is not on the map for them. They don’t think it is relevant because they are running a café and not anything big.

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“If Corona is here next year too then we will have a lot to do.” - Respondent White

Respondent Silver, the operational museum manager, mentions they have guidelines for crisis, see attachment, and they are hoping for COVID-19 to stop. However, they are financed by the government and are not afraid for their survival. Respondent Silver mentions that even though they have a crisis plan/structure they need to keep on improving it and change it. They mention that all crises are different and you need to analyze each crisis to see if there can be some improvements or if they can add some steps for it to evolve and make the situation manageable.

Respondent Bronze, the guest manager, doesn't have any further comments on the future. They simply hope for the best and hope that the corona virus will end this year. However, if it continues they are not worried. They will continue as they did this year with special offers and following the government’s restrictions.

Respondent Green, Brown, Grey, Gold and Black did not respond to this question because they didn’t think it was relevant to their organization. However, all respondents were appreciative of the crisis. They told similar stories that they have learned a lot “the hard way” even if some changes were not good at all, they still were happy that it didn’t become worse than it was.

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5. Analysis This chapter focuses on analyzing the empirical results from the interviews with different organizations and earlier studies and theories. The research is analyzed from different perspectives of crisis management models and theories. The crisis management in different organizations have not been successful due to the lack of knowledge in techniques and too much relying on the government.

5.1 Concept of crisis management in rural areas During the interviews the respondents could identify many errors in their planning, organizing and managing. However, even though there are a lot of errors the managers choose not to make a crisis management plan for their organization. Many respondents claim that their organization is too small or that it is not in their interests and expect the government to enlighten them. However, there were some respondents that wanted to change and evolve so that this crisis would not happen again next season. One respondent even had a crisis plan but they claim that it should be updated. After analyzing 15 interviews, four themes have been created: crisis planning, crisis implementation, crisis evaluation and crisis prevention.

As Santana (2004) claims there is enough evidence to suggest that one of the most vulnerable industries to crises is the tourism industry and when it comes to crises it does not matter how big or small the organization is, all organizations are in the same risk of being affected. When interviewing the respondents there were not many of them that were concerned. Some respondents were of course afraid of the outcome of the crisis but they were still hoping for the best.

Siomkos (1992) mentions the discrete crises and many of the respondents are unanimous when it comes to it. Almost all the respondent’s highlighted that they were not prepared for this crisis and that they don’t have any plan on how to plan for it but rather to “see how it goes”. As many other destinations in earlier studies (Sausmarez, 2007; Pearsson, 2007 & Santana, 2004) the goal of an organization is to keep it going and make the destination thrive on tourists needs and wants. However, one respondent claimed that tourism actors don’t have the time or the effort to plan the organization because of how this crisis have affected them.

Laws, Prideaux & Chon (2007) mention there are four steps to overcome a crisis: step in and deal right away with the crisis, manage people that are affected, minimize the damage that may result in bad publicity and loss of custom and minimize the difficulties with suppliers and business partners. However, having a negative attitude does not make it better for neither the destination nor the organization. Many respondents were negative about the crisis and only focused on the bad parts about it and did not make any new suggestions on how to turn it around. Some respondents were hopeful that it would only be though this season and that it could get better in time but they still did not have any new plan on how to manage the crisis

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and what to do next. Suazmarez (2007) explained that depending on what crisis it is, each develop in its own way and tourism destinations are not immune to them.

5.2 Crisis planning Heath (1998) highlights the importance of having a good management plan to reduce the impacts of the crisis by scanning the environment on the political, economic, social and technological aspects. However, in this research there were not many respondents who had a crisis plan at all or even scanned the local environment. Also Kash & Darling (1998) mention some tools that organizations can use which are strategic forecasting, contingency planning, issues analysis and scenario analysis. But these analysis methods can not be used in organizations that are not willing to be open for crisis management plans. Some respondents are aware of the tourists and the impacts they have on the city but they seem to put the responsibility on the municipality and government. Respondents talk about how they have many day visitors and that there is a huge potential in developing more over night stay- tourists but no future plan on how to do it. Some respondents mention how they don’t have a plan for current or future crises. However, they have good collaborations and discussions with other regional networks and municipalities which have both representatives from tourism and business. Respondents mention how they will manage their organization in a different way. They mention how the plan is to reorganize which means to make adjustments that will make the organization save money but still be prepared for worst case scenario. The main plan is to adapt the organization to the demand at the current situation.

Ritchie (2004) has made a model for planning and managing different crises and disasters for both public and private sectors. It is important to try to develop strategies and plan to stop or limit the impacts of a crisis or disaster. However, during the interviews there was only one respondent that had a solid plan for a crisis, all the other respondents only had ideas on what to do. Some respondents also acted like it wasn’t important to have a plan and trusted that the government would bend the restrictions.

Pearsson (2007) mentions how important it is for an organization to make the transition to crisis mode successfully by reacting quickly and effectively. There were some respondents who were doing some changes in the organization but still being skeptical on how everything would turn out. Many respondents learned how to plan and said that they would take the learnings of this year with them to next season.

A respondent commented on the planning and said it was impossible to plan an organization because they need to follow the plan that the government has built. The governments plan was the restrictions which meant less customers and the business going down. Organizations that are financed by the government don’t have many challenges but organizations that stand on their own feet have been struggling.

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5.3 Crisis implementation guideline Ritchie (2004) explained that an organization needs to know its surroundings and it is important they implement guidelines to follow. An organization needs to have good work strategies (Ritchie, 2004) which many of the respondents commented on. They said that the governments restrictions have been through which made the organizations find new solutions that could work for a short period of time. Also effective communication and control is an important key (Ritchie, 2004) however only a few respondents talked about how important it is to engage the whole organization and be communicative about the problem that is affecting them.

Implementing a communication strategy is also important for the organization and respondents talked about having open conversations to their employees. Ritchie (2004) mentions how important it is for the organization to communicate through their channels and actually be involved with people. Because if the organizations don’t communicate then people will create their own opinions and conclusions.

Ritchie (2004) also spoke about controlling resources but respondents did not have any knowledge about that part of the organization. Some respondents claimed that the resources are, as other parts of the organization, affected by the restrictions. Richie (2004) also mentioned the importance of collaboration with the different stakeholders in the tourism industry and other sectors which is what almost every respondent has commented on. Some respondents mention how much help they have gotten from the municipality but also the government (even though some of the help has led to less customers). The respondents mention that communication and reading the health departments recommendation have affected the organization both good and bad. However, these restrictions have not been clear strategies. The restrictions were only guidelines but not a paper on how to make the organization move forward and create an on-going organization in crisis periods.

Another important aspect that Ritchie (2004) brought to light is stakeholders and how to collaborate with them. It is important for the stakeholders, both internal and external, to be involved in the organization. For example, many respondents mention how they are dependent on the government and municipality, external stakeholders, for orders and restrictions. In order to plan for a crisis, an organization needs to work with key internal and external stakeholders in the tourism industry. Some respondents have been in close contact with their employees, explaining to them in what shape the organization is and how it will be in the future with the restrictions. However, they also had contact with the external stakeholders like government, industry sectors and municipality. One respondent mentioned that they had weekly conferences where they share their experiences of what went well, what they can improve and how to work. But also the same respondent mentions that the most important thing to remember is to listen to the government’s suggestions and make decisions out of the restrictions. The respondent mentions that the government has to have in mind that some of these companies are small so they need to have compassion and make it fair to everyone.

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Some respondent’s were mad at the external stakeholders because they didn’t give enough information and help that they needed. They complained that they haven’t had much to work with and some organizations have even gone into bankruptcy because of this. However there was no indication that the internal and external stakeholders were working together. It is important that these stakeholders can work together in case of a crisis or disaster.

5.4 Crisis evaluation Richie (2004) talked about evaluating the whole destination or organization after a crisis has occurred. Many of the respondents have evaluated their organization during the crisis period. During the interviews they talk about how the crisis have affected them, how the government has helped them and how they will continue to fight the pandemic next year. Even though every respondent is hopeful for the future some respondents are afraid of the outcome and on how they will manage it next year. Some respondents said that they need to take advantage of nature and start having many activities outdoors.

Even though this year has been tough one respondent claimed that a crisis management plan will not be possible to create because the organization is too small. Another respondent also commented on the fact that their organization is too small for a bigger crisis plan and that they are satisfied with the restrictions. All organizations need to evaluate their situation in order to grow (Ritchie, 2004) but in this study not many respondents are making the effort to evaluate it or to even plan for the future. Most respondents were taking the situation to lightly and are just “hoping” for the best.

The final step to deal with crisis and disasters is to evaluate the whole destination or organization after a crisis has occurred. The goal for an organization is try to control the crisis and try to stop or reduce it in the future. But crises and disasters are complex and impact can make permanent damage on both the organization and destination. However, some changes can even be good and beneficial for the organization or destination (Ritchie, 2004). Faulkner (2001) mentions how some crises can even have transformational connotations meaning they have the ability to change a destination or organization for the better. Also, having feedback on a crisis can help the planning and prevention process in the future if a new crisis occurs (Ritchie, 2004).

Ritchie (2004) also mentions that some changes in an organization during a crisis can even be good. Almost all respondents mentioned how they have learned many things during these tough times. They mention how they will remember these changes as a lesson and that they will be more open to planning ahead.

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5.5 Crisis prevention Every organization needs to have its own customized crisis management prevention plan (Pearson, 2007). Pearson (2007) mentions a few questions: which actions, steps and reactions need to be taking into consideration? However, the respondents are aware of the situation but there is not much crisis management action. First of all an organization need to be transitioning to crisis mode in the right way by reacting quickly and effectively. A respondent mentioned that the pandemic hit very quick and a lot of damage was made already in the first few months. Because of the lack of experience in crisis management not many respondents thought this crisis would be long term and therefore just stayed optimistic. One respondent claimed that a crisis management plan is needed but they expect the government to give one to them.

Pearson (2007) mentions how it is important to introduce exercises, techniques and skills when it comes to crisis management. However, the respondents did not speak of any type of exercises, techniques and skills, they only focused on the planning part and how to best “get out of the situation”. This step is important for organizations to acknowledge because they can prepare themselves for the next crisis by implementing some exercises, techniques and skills (Pearson, 2007).

By building teamwork and team spirit is an important part of the organization. It is important to remember that there is a whole company to save from the crisis, not just one person. Many respondents spoke about their employees and how this crisis will affect them. Some respondents were hoping they would not fire any employees and keep them in the company through the crisis but they could not say for sure how the outcome will be. One respondent mentioned that there have been some cutbacks because of the crisis and unfortunately it has affected the employees. The same respondent mentions that the first ones to go are the employees and of course that is not fun for either the employee or the management. Pearson (2007) mentions how good it is to make the participants change roles so they can better understand each other which is what one respondent talked about. They mentioned that they have been changing their work schedule so they could all work together in order to get the best possible outcome both for the organization but also for customers.

Pearson (2007) argues how decision-making is an important process in crisis management. Almost in every interview there have been a discussion about the decision making process and how important it is to make the right descriptions at the right time. Decisions like closing down and reducing the working force have been the most difficult ones. However, other parts like deciding opening hours, what to sell, what to order from suppliers and how much, etc. has also been difficult. The respondents mention that the most difficult part of the decision making process is that organizations are in constant waiting for the governments new plans and rules. During the interviews the respondent mentions that even though they plan their organization, the government can come up with new restrictions and then they need to change their plan again. Multiple respondents mention how it is exhausting and they can’t wait for this period to be over.

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Pearson (2007) mentions how the crises are unpredictable and for that reason it’s important to analyze the “nature of surprise”. But during the interviews there were only one respondent who talked about this and who was prepared for this. However, this respondent had a finished plan and is financed by the government. Even though they had a solid plan they claimed they needed to keep on improving it and changing it. The same respondent mentioned how all crises are different and an organization needs to analyze each crisis to see if there can be some improvements or if they can add some step for it to evolve and make the situation manageable. This is what Pearson (2007) also mentioned, that each crisis is different and each organization needs to update their routines. The other respondents mentioned how they did not see the crisis coming and have never been through this before, and are therefore inexperienced and worried.

Pearson (2007) also mentions that a surprise is never new and by learning and constructing relevant scenarios in crises that have already happened, an organization can come up with guidelines for future crisis periods. However, a future plan was not mentioned by the respondents. Pearson (2007) mentions how the ultimate goal for an organization is to become safer and stronger to manage the upcoming crisis. By having a dynamic feedback an organization can evaluate a crisis. Almost all respondents have evaluated their situation and all agree that they need to have guidelines in the future. However, they also express that they need better communication and help from the government.

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6. Conclusions and further research This chapter focuses on the conclusion and final answers to the research questions that were formulated in the first chapter of the study. This chapter also presents further research to the study. The aim of this study was to research on how different organizations in rural destination organize themselves and how they plan, manage and organize their organization through the ongoing corona pandemic. This study focused on organizations that were dependent on tourism as a main source of income.

6.1 The Corona crisis impact on organizations in rural areas The literature review explained many different objectives and guidelines on crisis management and how to deal with unexpected crises. The Corona pandemic has impacted every organization and most of them were not prepared for this. Earlier research talked about different crises and how each crisis is different: you never know how the crisis is going to affect you. However, having some sort of crisis plan helps the organizations to get back up on it’s feet and manage each problem as it comes along.

The Corona pandemic has effected the whole world and Sweden was hit hard comparing to other countries’ in the Nordic area. Unfortunately, Sweden has had a number of restrictions that organizations needed to follow which has led organizations into a bad place of lesser customers, loss of income and needing to fire employees. Organizations need to have it’s own customized crisis management preparation with it’s own organization objectives, time frames, and their crisis management capability. This study showed that not many organizations have a crisis plan or does any type of crisis management in their organizations.

The Corona pandemic hit the organizations hard and some organizations where at the edge of filing for bankruptcy. The organizations mentioned how they had less customers which meant loss in income and hard to pay bills. When asked why they did not come up with a plan during these times they claimed that the Corona crisis hit them hard and they did not have any time or effort to come up with a crisis plan. To have minimal impact on the organization every organization, no matter how big or small, needs to have an ongoing crisis plan, no matter how much time they have. This helps organizations to stay in line and be prepared, for when crises like this occurs. This is also something that Pearson (2007) argued about. Some organizations claimed that they were trusting the government to have guidelines and help them in these crisis cases. However, organizations can not wait for the government to step in and save them.

It is in every organization own hands to develop strategies that suits the organizations own needs and demands. Almost every organization in this study waited for “the storm to pass” and did only what the government instructed them to do; follow restrictions, keep distance and stricter hygiene.

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During the study there was one organization that did have a crisis plan. This organization was financed by the government and had multiple crisis-guidelines for different crisis situations. The crisis pandemic plan they had was new and they mentioned that they still have a lot to work on. However, even though this organization had a crisis plan they did close their organization for three months. This was possible because they were financed by the government and did not loose anything in exchange. By experiencing a crisis or disaster of some type, organizations can create a way to minimize or avoid damage of such events through different crisis management strategies.

To summarize it all, organizations in these rural destinations have not had it easy. The Corona pandemic period has been hard and many organizations have had losses of income, customers and employees. The organizations in this study have seen that guidelines from the government are not enough when it comes to crisis management. However, many organizations claimed that they have learned a lot by experiencing a crisis and are already planning for next season meaning that some are going to come up with a plan for their organization, if the Corona pandemic is still here. As Faulkner (2001) mentioned by experiencing a crisis or disaster of some type, organizations can create a way to minimize or avoid damage through different crisis management strategies.

6.2 Reorganizing and planning organizations during a crisis Earlier research showed that it is important to create a problem-solving action plan that combines all stakeholders’ interests and activities when it comes to crisis management. Many organizations saw the importance in having a crisis plan but did not know how to create one. By having a plan an organization can easily predict and solve a future crisis by implementing, developing and preparing an action plan with accurate solution steps. However, many organizations claim that they are waiting for help and listening to the government, but the government can just do some, they can not save every organization in Sweden.

By doing this study one can see how the planning process is connected to the reorganization process. Planning for a crisis is important, but planning during a crisis is also important. As Faulkner (2001) argued, productive managers that address the crisis have better responses to crisis or disaster situations. Meaning by experiencing a crisis or disaster of some type, organizations can create a way to minimize or avoid damage of such events through different crisis management strategies. Some important steps in the reorganization are communication strategy, controlling resources and collaboration with stakeholders. By having a good communication strategy, both within the organization and outside the organization, the organization can be transparent and in that way plan for the next step. Good communication within the organization is significant for the employees so they feel more safe, have a better work ethic and can help the organization with new ideas and solutions. Communication from the government is also important. Even though there are restrictions to follow, the organization needs to take the matter into their own hands and develop a plan that is suitable for their organization. Controlling resources is another step that the organization can be of use.

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Organizations mentioned how their resources were affected by the crisis and therefore it is important for the organization to come up with new techniques on how to manage their resources for example plan ahead and have an ongoing stock of supplies. It is important for the stakeholders, both internal and external, to be involved in the organization crisis process. As mentioned before organizations need to listen to the government but it is important for organizations to remember that they are in charge of how this process will be and what they are going to change in order for the organization to keep going.

Every organization needs to have a crisis management prevention plan meaning following these five (5) steps: transitioning into crisis mode, know the basic elements of a crisis, have teamwork, preparation and support for the decision making and reaction to the unexpected. Transitioning into the crisis mode means that the faster the organization realizes the crisis and the damage that could awaiting them, the better. This way the organization can prepare for the next step. By knowing the basic elements of a crisis an organization can plan for how they will manage it in the future. Teamwork is about remembering that the whole company needs saving from the crisis, not just one person. Communication, as mentioned before, is important in this step so that everyone can be involved in the process. Preparation and support of decision making is important so that the organization can move forward even during crises. However, according to the organizations it is hard to make new decisions when the government can come up with new restrictions and then they need to change their plan again. But the decision making is never absolute, there will always be changes because a crisis is never the same from start to end. In the last step reaction to the unexpected surprise is never new and by adapting different scenarios an organization can predict future crises or at least be prepared. The organizations in this study never had a future plan but it is necessary in order to survive crises like the corona pandemic. All organizations agreed on the fact that a future plan is necessary. Reaction to the unexpected is meant to be like a “future plan” which can save organizations from getting hit to hard by the ongoing crisis.

In summary, in order for organizations to reorganize and plan for the crisis there needs to be guidelines and routines on how the organization will achieve it. By having different plans for different crises the organization can be better prepared for the next one. The planning process is connected to the reorganization process. The important steps in the reorganization are communication strategy, controlling resources and collaboration with stakeholders. No matter how big or small the organization is, it is important for each organization to have an organization plan in order to tackle and reduce the consequences of a crisis. Also by following the five (5) steps, transitioning into crisis mode, know the basic elements of a crisis, have teamwork, preparation and support for the decision making and reaction to the unexpected, an organization can reorganize and have a crisis management plan that will hold the organization though rocky periods.

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6.3 Further research It would be interesting to deepen the study by going into what measures should be taken in case of a crisis. It would be interesting to continue to exanimate this area but add more interviews and follow up interviews. Also to do a broader study to examine how different regions in Sweden have tackled the Corona pandemic for example how rural destinations have adapted the changes and how they have managed the organization during these hard times. As Faulkner (2001) said the concept of crisis management in pandemics is relatively new and lacks deeper understanding of it, that is why more research about the subject should be done.

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Appendix Interview questions

The purpose of this study is to examine how different organizations manage, organize and

plan for the side effects of the world crisis: Corona pandemic. If it is possible, I would like to

record the interview – your identity will be completely anonymous and your answers will be

used only for study purposes.

1. What do you work with? Tell us a little about your organization and what you do.

2. How long have you worked there?

3. When is the low and high season usually and how do you work during these periods?

4. The Corona pandemic have been hard on everyone – how have you handled it in your

organization?

5. Could you tell us if you have handled any other crises in the organization?

6. Would you be able to tell us how you organize your business when these crises arise?

7. What are the challenges and opportunities for your crisis management business?

8. Do you feel that your crisis preparedness works as it should? How?

9. Do you have any specific models, processes or measures that you use in crises? Do you

have any business conversion? If so, what does it look like?

10. How has the crisis affected tourism in your destination?

11. Do you feel that your organization would need further training in crisis management? If

No – Why? If Yes, what kind of training?

12. What do you think the future will look like? How will you plan for next season?

Strategies?

Thank you for your participation. You have been a huge help in this study. If you have any

questions or anything you would like to add to the interview – please contact me on

[email protected]. or 0723662404. Otherwise I wish you a great day!

mailto:[email protected]

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