THE MANAGEMENT OF UNCERTAINTY IN TOURISM: STRATEGIC PARADOXES AND COMMUNICATION

The design of new tourism products necessarily enters into the realm of uncertainty. Such uncertainty concerns the product developed and its later use as much as the way the design project is conducted. It can be linked to events either within or outside the firm. It will be considered to be acceptable by the design team concerned as long as it remains within a field of tolerance (domain of performance, “margin for random effects”, etc.), with the risk relating to how to egress from that domain. The first section addresses the issue of uncertainty in design and concerns the developed product and its later use just as the way the design project is pursued. The second section focuses on decision-making and how the various risks that can affect the firm and its environment are taken into account.