THE MOTORCOACH TRAVEL INDUSTRY: TRAVELING IN AN UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT

When businesses, especially small owner-operated businesses, are operating in a stable, familiar environment, they often slip into a comfortable routine, seeing no need to alter business operations. Innovation and change are somewhat frightening, and there is little perceived need to make significant changes. Sometimes, it takes an unexpected and disruptive shock to force business owners to take anew look at their business processes. This is what happened to the motorcoach-based travel industry in the United States following 9/11. There was an immediate need to reevaluate existing processes and to implement changes to facilitate company recovery efforts. This same dilemma is faced by transport providers in the travel industry regardless of their location, the nature of the catastrophe, or the mode of travel.