Political difficulties are keeping the industry from coming together and forming a back-up plan that could prevent mass travel disruptions during times of crisis, according to an industry expert.

Speaking at the 2nd International Forum on the Integration of Tourism and Emergency Management Aerial in Sydney last week, University of Technology’s David Beirman said “certain types of issues” in the industry are keeping the tourism sector from forming a solution that could keep travellers moving when flights are grounded or when trains have stopped moving.

Referring to disruption caused by Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010, Mr Beirman said the eruption and ash caused an “enormous impact” on air transport in Europe with more than 6.8 million travellers affected at the time.

Unable to complete their journey via air, Mr Beirman said many holidaymakers were left stranded and searching not only for an alternative means of travel but a public order and infrastructure to support them during the crisis.

“Very few companies had a policy or response to this issue,” Mr Beirman explained.

“Virtually nobody had a specific idea how they were going to respond.

“What we didn’t have was a plan for inter-mobile transport.”

With little money and no where to stay, the industry expert said travellers turned to Europe’s high-speed rail network to get moving, however, as demand picked up for rail, so did pricing.

Travel insurers were further causing confusion on what type of insurance would be covered and what wouldn’t.

According to the Mr Beirman, each insurance company had a different policy and the “inconsistency had a huge impact on tourists”.

Furthermore, holidaymakers who had organized their vacation with travel agents received a “great deal of support” than those who used other means of booking.

Proposing rail, air and other areas of the industry form a complete solution to any future disturbances, Mr Beirman said issues would arise as sectors within the industry fail to find benefits to their business.

“In different sectors there are different levels of preparedness to get involved with this type of concept,” he explained.

“They also have different levels of interest and different responsibilities to passengers.”

What are you thoughts, can the industry form a solution or will political issues keep disruptions up ahead?