CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN TOURISM AND TRANSPORT - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module provides an integrated and strategic approach to understanding tourism crisis and disaster planning and management in various geographical and socio-cultural contexts. It provides an integrated approach in two main ways. First, it synthesises literature from a wide range of theoretical perspectives including natural hazards, geography, transport accidents and disasters, crisis public relations, communication and knowledge management theory. It aims to integrate these often-disparate fields to build understanding and the future development of knowledge in the tourism and transport field to enable our students to understand this complex area, enhance their digital capabilities and resourcefulness and resilience, and apply their learning in future employment towards a more resilient and sustainable tourism and transport industry.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

KNOX Dan (SII DUFE)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 5

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The context for tourism and transport crisis and disaster management


• Classifying and understanding crisis and disaster


• Strategic crisis and disaster planning and management


• Tourism crisis and disaster response, implementation and management


• Responses to transport accidents and disasters


• Crisis management, crisis communication, and the role of marketing and PR


• The interaction of the main sectors and international collaboration in crisis management


• Long term recovery and future issues and trends for crisis management

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

In cases where the original group project is not suitable for re-assessment (e.g., only one student needs to retake the failed group project), an individual essay of 1000 words will be assigned.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate: their insight into the module content areas and the extent to which the students have gathered and analysed information individually and collectively. The assessment for this module consists of:

            a) a group presentation based on a real-life case study assessing the students’ understanding of key concepts, issues and trends in several areas of crisis management. The assignment will also assess students’ presentation skills;

            b) an individual essay to encourage students to further explore and discuss their own views in the field of crisis management and incorporating relevant theory.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A group project designed to encourage students to further explore aspects of the business of transport and tourism through working with their peers. Each self-selected group will submit and hold a presentation.

• An essay aimed at assessing the students’ understanding of key concepts, national and global issues and trends in the key areas of tourism and transport crisis management.

  Formative assessment and Feedback

  Students are required to submit a project proposal before the final submission of the group presentation. A project surgery session will be organised to give formative feedback on their presentation plan based on the submitted proposal.

Module aims

• To enable students to analyse and understand a range of pertinent issues in tourism and transport crisis management.
  
• To encourage students to think critically about these issues and their own views towards them.
• To develop students' skills in researching fast-moving contemporary issues and develop solutions to better manage crisis in tourism and transport, using a range of academic and industry source material.
• To develop students' presentation, creativity and analytical writing skills.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: provide students with key information about the various impacts, management and recovery of the tourism and transport industry to encourage them to explore and evaluate these challenges and develop solutions.

 

Furthermore, the learning and teaching strategy is designed to develop students’ cultural awareness, digital literacy, confidence and competence in working with others, leadership, communication skills, employability and professionalism. This in turn will enhance students’ resourcefulness and resilience, and contribute to their employability.

The teaching and learning methods include:

 

• lectures and guest lectures designed to provide a framework of knowledge;


• seminars (with case study exercises) to provide opportunities for students to gather and interpret their own material; and


• Tasks to challenge their thinking.

 

Lectures and seminars, with a range of specialisms designed to provide a framework of knowledge.

In-class exercises, case studies and discussion topics will highlight contemporary issues and allow the students to form and challenge perspectives from the vested stakeholders.

Visiting speakers will ensure students appreciate the relevance of the material to the tourism and transport sectors.

 

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN2156

Other information

This module aligns with the five pillars of the Surrey Curriculum Framework:

1. Digital capabilities

Throughout the module students learn to navigate and utilise the Virtual Learning Environment @ Surrey (SurreyLearn) and other digital resources and online databases to aid their learning and undertake research. Students are encouraged to use current media such as WeChat, Whatsapp, Teams, Zoom, and utilising cloud/file sharing for communication and team working. Appropriate use of digital media and communication platforms is increasingly important in crisis management in tourism and transport, and through use and discussion of these students gain an awareness of their roles and teamworking capabilities.

2. Employability

Crisis Management is one of the key competencies in tourism and transport management now and in the future. Being critical and creative thinkers and effective communicators who excel in employing evidence-based reasoning, applying multiple perspectives of business and policy issues, recognising distinctive contribution of management, innovation and technology into real-world issues and present ideas confidently, clearly and fluently in writing, visually and orally.

3. Global and cultural capabilities

Tourism and Transport crisis management inherently require international and cross-cultural perspectives, collaboration and communication. Case studies in this module draw on a wide range of international and diverse perspectives. Further, students will develop their ability to work in groups effectively with other students from diverse backgrounds to broaden their world view, own perspectives and interpretations and reinterpreting issues against a broader spectrum of ideas and representations.

4. Resourcefulness and resilience

The module content and structure are centered around resourcefulness and resilience, both in terms of resilience of the tourism and transport industries, as well as fostering student resourcefulness and resilience. Students will develop an opportunity-centred mindset and leadership, demonstrating confidence in responding effectively to opportunities, challenges, problems, and setbacks, reflecting and learning from own performance and experiences, and develop solutions.

5. Sustainability

Sustainability is at the core of all degrees at SHTM, aligning with the UN Sustainable Goals. Sustainability issues discussed in this Crisis Management module include, for example, climate crisis and natural disasters, issues of health and economic inequalities, as well as crisis management related to political and cultural issues. Lectures and seminars give students the opportunity to explore specific topical aspects of sustainability including the UNWTO’s sustainable tourism strategies, GSTC criteria and the Glasgow Declaration in more depth.

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.