Tourist authorities in the Greek capital Athens demonstrated last week how to utilise social networks to inform visitors about disruption and disorder.
A strategy was put in place soon after it emerged that protests taking place during a national strike in the city were likely to cause problems or even danger to tourists.
Such a strategy is in stark contrast to recent problems elsewhere when the local tourist boards ignored (as in the case of Arizona) or were slow to react (such as Louisiana) to public sentiment around various problems occurring in their respective states.
The official Breathtaking Athens organisation – the public-facing DMO representing the city – used Twitter to inform visitors in and outside the country about how the protests events were unfolding.
Violence flared at various flashpoints around the city during a series of marches, but the stream indicates that rather than ignoring what was going on the DMO used the service for updates.
It even actively promoted a Twitter hashtag – #ATHsafety – for followers to use and share information on the ground.
The more immediate interaction experienced on Twitter was also carried over to the DMO’s Facebook page, where – once again – the organisation posted links to news stories about the protests and also offered advice to visitors.
Some observers might argue that a strategy might have been better served before the protests took place, warning inbound tourists as to potential danger in the city, but given how other DMOs have reacted recently the example of Athens is perhaps an indication that DMOs are beginning to understand how to use social media during crisis points.
Breathtaking Athens recently struck a deal with destination site Joobili to work on the DMO’s wider social media strategy and share event content.
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Bravo to Breathtaking Athens. It’s a wonderful thing to see as other tourist boards have chosen to run away from controversial events.
As stated, it might not be the perfect policy, but kudos to the Athens DMO for facing up to the issue and not putting their head in the sand as others. It looks to me the closer you get to the local level the less politics seem to be involved. Gets more complicated the higher up you go, but that’s certainly no valid excuse.