THE ANALYSIS OF COMPARING TOURISM IMAGE RECOVERY STRATEGIES BETWEEN SINGAPORE’S POST–SARS IN 2003 AND SOUTH KOREA’S POST–MERS IN 2015

Abstract

The tourism industry has a significant role for a country, because of its great influence on the country's economic development. Singapore and South Korea are the countries that depend heavily on tourism revenue. The tourism industry in both countries experienced a decline when SARS hit Singapore in 2003 and MERS hit South Korea in 2015. This study attempts to analyse the comparison of tourism’s strategies of image restoration after crises. It starts with the role of tourism for Singapore and South Korea after the outbreak of disease on how tourism itself has been proved to be a vulnerable industry. It notes that Singapore and South Korea restores their image by improving the security system, developing tourism issues and crises management plans supported by strategic promotional, and the Multi-Track and Public Diplomacy approach. It should be integrated through progress indicators summarized in the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2007 which officially released the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) especially in the pillars of Safety and Security, Health and Hygiene, and Prioritization of Travel and Tourism, to measure a country's competitiveness in tourism along with the effectiveness of the government's strategies in enhancing the tourism image. The results of the study show that Singapore is more effective in attracting foreign tourists than South Korea.