Situation
Just months after naming Myriad its agency of record, Dominica was hit by the Category 5 Hurricane Maria. Having established its brand as “The Nature Island,” this natural disaster devastated their tourism industry in the short-term – not only were popular tourist attractions suddenly inaccessible, but even potential travelers were faced with indelible images of destruction. The immediate goals were to deploy need-to-know information in the immediate aftermath, followed by a strategic campaign to shift the narrative from destruction to recovery and, ultimately, to share a story of resilience.
Action
Working nimbly, Myriad’s team pivoted from promoting nature tourism to managing crisis PR. This was immediately followed by a strategic campaign to change public perception and to encourage travelers to return to the island as soon as the cruise port and hotels reopened for business.
Results
Dedicated PR efforts resulted in top-level coverage in 2017 and 2018. Stories included “The Future of Tourism in Dominica” in TravelPulse, reports on the rebounding cruise and hotel industries in Travel Weekly, Travel Agent Central and the Los Angeles Times, and an important The New York Times feature on volunteering in hurricane-damaged islands. Dominica was also featured in a critical Bloomberg piece on “How to Hurricane-Proof an Island.”
