Social media distributes, escalates and amplifies issues at a greater magnitude than we have ever witnessed. Authentic communication, including transparency, accountability and the speed at which you react to the situation is the key to managing and resolving a crisis situation.

Take for example, the live coverage of the hostage situation in the Philippines this week. The Philippines government allowed their handling of the situation to be televised as it played out and are now subject to intense criticism in the media and online communities for their handling of the situation, which many deem to be inept, contributing to the loss of lives of seven tourists and the hostage taker.

Distribution: Twitter helped proliferate information about the crisis at lightning speed. One ‘tweeter’ was literally ‘live-tweeting’ updates, using the hash tag #manila, and was most probably at the scene.

Coverage by the mainstream media provides credibility, and is widely picked up online by netizens, bloggers etc. So Twitter users were cross referencing traditional media, such as the wires (eg. Reuters, Associate Press), newspapers, and along with broadcasters who showed the situation live on cable television (eg. CNN, BBC). Video clippings of the crisis were posted on YouTube as well as the broadcasters websites, eg cnn.com.

Escalation: In crisis situations, instant messaging through platforms such as MSN, Yahoo! Messenger, Twitter and Facebook help organise public opinion quickly. Hong Kong residents began cancelling trips to the Philippines immediately as calls to their safety were called into question. Reflecting public opinion, Donald Tsang, the chief executive of Hong Kong, asked all Hong Kong people to leave the Philippines as quickly as possible.

Amplification: Again reflecting consensus, the day after the hostage situation, using traditional media, Tsang criticised the Philippines handling of a hostage crisis, expressing his disappointment in the outcome. Hong Kong citizens were also quoted, openly challenging the handling of the situation in both traditional and social media, saying that a peaceful resolution may have been reached and that the Philippines were inept in their handling of the situation.

Response: The Philippines government took a very proactive and unusual step of using their website, http://www.gov.ph/, to address and respond to the public during the crisis. They initially posted a briefing about the live situation, followed by a statement at 1.14pm that they continued to monitor the situation. After the incident concluded, a Presidential statement was issued stating the facts of the hostage incident, rationalizing the government’s handling of the event. In all instances, the briefing and statement had the capacity to be re-tweeted or recommended to friends online. (From the source, the Presidential statement attracted over 370 re-tweets and 1,300 Facebook postings).

By accepting responsibility, as well as openly communicating in an authentic manner, the Philippines government responded appropriately to the crisis. Furthermore, their President clearly indicated that they will continue the dialogue as more facts come to light.

The real crisis is the loss of faith that foreign governments, especially China and Hong Kong, have experienced in the security of their citizens to travel to the Philippines. The impact on tourism to the Philippines may be profound.

The hostage incident in Manila was a text book case of how to appropriately handle a crisis using social media. The onus is now on the Philippines government to assure other governments of their ability to protect foreign visitors and to demonstrate that this crisis was a one off incident that was entirely circumstantial. Their first step to do this was contained within the Presidential statement that they posted online the night of the event.  The President made clear that the police acted with caution and took action once they deemed all lives were at risk. The actions the Philippines take next will determine the impact on tourism.

TravMedia is the only dedicated travel newswire for organisations to reach over 3,000 travel and hospitality journalists in Asia Pacific. If you are in the industry and want to get wide spread distribution of your news, I strongly recommend subscribing to the service.

http://www.travmedia.com

- Singapore’s very own version of “Motorcycle Diaries” will come to life at the next WIT*e – Inspiration & Mentoring as the husband-and-wife team who went on a round-the-world trip by motorcyle shares their stories at the event on September 2. Goh Mia Chun and Samantha Pan, who recently returned from their adventure, will tell students and travel industry professionals attending WIT*e about the inspiration behind the journey, their lessons on the road and the most exciting and scariest moments of the trip. Click here for details

- WITovation, a competition for start up’s take place again this year as part Web In Travel (WIT). For entrepreneurs who are keen to start up their own business in the digital travel space, this is a chance to get an edge and make your dream come true with the WITovation Entrepreneur Competition & Bootcamp, Singapore. The competition is open to start-ups from zero to two years old, looking to build a sustainable business in the digital travel space. Any ideas are welcome. You just need to submit a maximum of three pages describing your business concept and implementation plan. What you stand to win is personal time with WIT’s mentors and judges; an opportunity to be positioned for a Singapore government grant for start-ups; and the opportunity to meet and discuss your business plans with key investors and influencers in the industry.

For competition entrants and all interested entrepreneurs, the WITovation Entrepreneur Bootcamp takes place on Oct 18, 2010 at the LKC School of Business, Singapore Management University. The event features Morten Lund, co-founder of more than 50 high-tech start-ups, most famously Skype and online stockbroker Zecco, who knows a thing or two about the dark side and the bright side of success as an entrepreneur.

- Web In Travel (WIT), returns from 19-22 October 2010, alongside ITB Asia. Early Bird tickets are now on sale, for just USD888, representing a savings of USD300.  A veritable who’s who of the industry is speaking at the conference. Brands represented include Expedia, TravelCLICK, comScore, wego, Zuji, hotels.com, NileGuide, and Agoda. Major brands from Hospitality, Aviation and Tourism are also represented. Some 400 delegates are expected to attend again this year, from more than 20 countries. Click here for details

A WIT ticket gives you entry to:
•    WITovation Entrepreneur Bootcamp – Oct 18, Singapore Management University (seating limited, first come first serve)
•    WIT Conference & Expo – Oct 19-20, Ballroom 2, Suntec Convention Centre
•    WIT Ideas Lab at ITB Asia – Oct 21-22, 9-11am, Ballroom 2, Suntec Convention Centre
•    WIT Clinics at ITB Asia – Oct 21-22, 3-5pm, Level 6, ITB Asia Exhibition, Suntec Convention Centre
•    All WIT social events (except those by invitation)
•    ITB Asia – Oct 20-22, 11am-6pm, Level 6, Suntec Convention Centre
•    All ITB Asia social events (except those by invitation)

Click here for the WIT 2010 programme

Singapore

Singapore always gets called a foodie haven. With good reason. I’m impressed by how, as a country develops, the food gets of wider variety.

When I came here 13 years ago, one of the best places to get Western food was Pete’s Place at they Hyatt, or in an italian restaurant at the Shangri-La. These days, although hotels are still of merit there are just so many options to eat its rather embarassing. Embarassing because when someone asks me where should we eat, a million options come to mind yet I say the obvious. Kind of stupid at times as well.

One of the marks of Singapore’s development for me was the introduction of Turkish food. Coming from Sydney and having worked in Redfern for years, I was well used to Turkish food, sometimes even on a daily basis. It wasn’t until about 5 years ago I started to notice more Turkish food options here. Well to be truthful, there were Turkish food options 10, 12 years ago, but they weren’t that great. Nowadays you can have the most amazing Persian and Turkish food yum…