A recent article in StrategicRISK prompted me to reflect on something we are seeing repeatedly in conversations with our travel industry clients – that any of the pressures facing the sector today are not new in themselves. What has changed is how often they overlap, escalate and unfold at the same time.
For tour operators and destination management companies, this feels particularly intense. Travel is global by default, highly dependent on confidence and timing, and exposed simultaneously to geopolitical uncertainty, operational disruption, duty of care obligations and reputational pressure.
In our experience, the hardest moments in travel aren’t unexpected. They’re the ones where everything hits at once – and leaders are expected to decide quickly, with people and reputation on the line.
When disruption occurs, it rarely stays contained. An operational issue can quickly become a customer and duty of care challenge, a financial concern, and a leadership decision taken under pressure and scrutiny.
This is why some organisations we work with are finding that plans built around single scenarios struggle in real conditions. The issue is rarely a lack of preparation. More often, it is that assumptions about risks acting independently no longer reflect how disruption actually unfolds.
For the travel sector, resilience now depends less on predicting the next event and more on preparing leaders and teams for moments when familiar pressures converge. That includes clear crisis governance, rehearsed decision-making and confidence operating with incomplete information.
At Sanderson Phillips, we work with tour operators and DMCs on risk, safety and crisis management – from safety management systems and training through to exercises and live incident support. Our focus is practical: helping leadership teams think clearly, act decisively and protect people, reputation and operations when it matters most.
Periods of uncertainty inevitably create pressure. They also create an opportunity to step back, test assumptions and strengthen preparedness before it is tested under strain. Thanks to StrategicRISK for the original article which you can read in full here.