Tourism Industry and Natural Disasters

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Table of Contents

Executive summary
Industry overview
A major area of risk in this industry
Standards relating to the identified risk area
Developments in dealing with the identified risk area in this industry
Reference List

Executive summary

The tourism industry is a major part of the global economy and in some areas, it can be the primary or even only source of income for the local economies. However, due to its reliance on the natural environment, conditions, and weather at the destination, this industry is especially vulnerable to natural disasters. They can cause significant harm by directly damaging the properties and infrastructure, but also indirectly by causing social and economic disruptions. Furthermore, since a tourist destination’s attractiveness depends on its image as a safe and reliable place, a disaster can leave a lasting impact on it by creating feelings of danger and uncertainty.

As the tourism industry expands and develops, current research and policy-making exist that focus on minimizing the damage a natural disaster can cause, or accelerating recovery after one. Other policies seek to involve the local community in recovery efforts (Torrentira Jr, M.C. et al., 2019). Certification and accreditation standards have a significant effect in improving businesses’ performance (The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [UNISDR], 2015). Finally, natural disasters create an opportunity for businesses that cater to a specific kind of tourist that is interested in observing these disasters first-hand.

Industry overview

The tourism industry is one of the major global industries. It represents over half of service exports in certain countries as well as “covering more than 3% of global GDP” (Popescu, Nicolae and Pavel, 2015, p. 1). It is also growing rapidly, with the number of international tourists doubling between 1995 and 2013 (Tsai et al., 2016). In some areas, tourism is the primary, if not the only, source of income (Seraphin, 2018). This represents the significance of the industry as a necessary part of both local and global economies. However, the industry is heavily reliant on the natural environment and weather (Tsai et al., 2016).

Tourists’ choice of destination is heavily dependant on the local conditions at said destination. Although some of these conditions can be maintained by the local authorities and industries, others, such as weather, are unpredictable.

A major area of risk in this industry

Natural disasters are unpredictable, dangerous, and can have devastating effects on economy in general and the tourism industry specifically. As one example, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in 2010 led to £80 million in losses due to cancellations by airports alone (Kim and Macrouiller, 2015, p. 946). Certain areas, like the coastal regions of the U.S., tropical regions, or small island states, are more vulnerable to disasters such as hurricanes (Becken and Khazai, 2017; Kim and Macrouiller, 2015).

These events are going to become more common and potentially damaging due to the predicted effects of climate change (Kim and Macrouiller, 2015). As they are capable of causing significant damage and losses, mitigating the consequences of natural disasters is a critical part of the tourism industry in areas that are vulnerable to them.

The tourism industry is particularly vulnerable to disasters because of several factors. Becken and Khazai (2017) establish four reasons for this: its more disaster-prone location, the industry’s lack of knowledge and preparedness, poor assessment of vulnerability, and its “limited integration with national disaster management systems” (p. 97). Although the first reason is unavoidable, others present broad areas of improvement through research, funding and policy-making. Currently, the adoption of non-structural strategies for mitigating the consequences of natural disasters within the industry is limited (Nguyen, Imamura, and Iuchi, 2016).

Therefore, understanding the impact of natural disasters on businesses in the tourism industry and working to prevent and mitigate the possible damage is a critical part of decision-making in these businesses.

Natural disasters affect the tourism industry not only by directly damaging its infrastructure and property. They also disrupt the local labor market and fluctuations in tourism-related stock prices (Kim and Macrouiller, 2015). A region suffering from a natural disaster can also hurt its reputation and image as a tourist destination by inspiring fear and uncertainty, lowering its attractiveness (Tsai et al., 2016). This points to the importance of dedicating resources to minimizing the possible damage of natural disasters, as well as maintaining a destination’s image.

As the tourism industry grows, response to natural disasters will become even more important. The effect of natural disasters will likely increase “as tourism becomes increasingly hypermobile and the global economy even more interconnected” (Hall, 2010, cited in Kim and Macrouiller, 2015). Furthermore, the ongoing climate change, or global warming, can greatly and permanently affect the attractiveness of tourist destinations. An obvious example is ski-based tourist destinations suffering from the warmer weather, where businesses are forced to close or invest in snow-making technology (Tsai et al., 2016). Similarly, a natural disaster can devastate an unprepared tourist destination and render it inoperable either through direct damage or a loss in attractiveness.

Standards relating to the identified risk area

Depending on a destination’s location and vulnerability to particular natural disasters, it can benefit from different certifications and standards. The ASEAN Tourism Standard is focused on general security and disaster preparedness; Tsunami Ready is a standard coordinated by Indonesia’s Bali Hotels Association and certifies hotels prepared for tsunami and earthquakes (UNISDR, 2015).

Other standards include the Cristal International Standards, which are tailored to individual hotels and involve crisis management aimed at preparedness to natural disasters (UNISDR 2015). Hotel Resilient is an initiative to create an international set of standards to ensure that hotels are prepared for natural or technological disasters (UNISDR 2015). These standards help ensure that tourist destinations can deal with natural disasters that are likely to affect them, as well as guide their general safety and security.

Developments in dealing with the identified risk area in this industry

Modern developments regarding the tourism industry’s response to natural disasters focus primarily on resilience, preventing damage from natural disasters and reducing the time it takes to recover from them. This ability to quickly adapt to external disturbances is critical in the tourism sector (Orchiston, Prayag and Brown, 2016). The measures aimed at improving these areas can include “proactive policymaking, planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction” (Becken and Khazai, 2017, p. 97). To this end, policies are being developed that would require tourism structures to receive certain engineering certifications as a pre-condition for loans or insurance (Becken and Khazai, 2017). Certifications such as these can be important in ensuring the safety, resilience, and attractiveness of tourist destinations.

Since natural disasters affect entire regions and communities, and tourism can be a significant part of the local economy, local communities are naturally involved in the recovery efforts. Various community-based disaster management (CBDM) and community-based disaster risk reduction (CBDRR) approaches exist, aiming to minimize costs and external involvement in natural disaster management and recovery (Lestari, Paripurno and Nugroho, 2018). Although these approaches do not necessarily target the tourism industry itself, they benefit it by improving the recovery speed and overall image and attractiveness of the area.

In addition to their negative effects, natural disasters can present a unique opportunity for tourism. There is a growing field of businesses catering to people interested in directly observing hurricanes and severe thunderstorms (Seraphin, 2018). Additionally, an increase in tourism has been triggered in the aftermath of some natural disasters as the recovery efforts themselves became an attraction (Tucker, Sheldon, and Bae, 2016). These examples show that natural disasters can leave an opportunity for growth in the tourist industry if the businesses can adapt to the change.

Reference List

Becken, S., and Khazai, B. (2017). ‘Resilience, tourism and disasters. In Slocum, S.L., and Kline, K. (eds.) Tourism and Resilience. Wallingford: CABI, pp. 96-104.

Kim, H., and Marcouiller, D.W. (2015). ‘Considering disaster vulnerability and resiliency: the case of hurricane effects on tourism-based economies’. The Annals of Regional Science, 54(3), pp. 945-971. Web.

Lestari, P., Paripurno, E.T. and Nugroho, A.R.B., 2018. ‘Disaster risk reduction based on community through a contingency plan for mount Sinabung’. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 21(3), pp. 231-245.

Nguyen, D., Imamura, F., & Iuchi, K. (2016). Disaster management in coastal tourism destinations: the case for transactive planning and social learning. International Review for Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development, 4(2), pp. 3-17. Web.

Orchiston, C., Prayag, G., & Brown, C. (2016). ‘Organizational resilience in the tourism sector’. Annals of Tourism Research, 56, pp. 145-148. Web.

Seraphin, H. (2018). ‘Natural disaster and destination management: the case of the Caribbean and hurricane Irma’. Current Issues in Tourism, pp. 1-8. Web.

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. (2015). Developing strategies to strengthen the resilience of hotels to disasters. Bangkok: UNISDR. Web.

Torrentira Jr, M.C. et al. (2019). ‘Dimensions of citizens’participation in disaster response in Davao City, Philippines’. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 7(10), pp. 117-129.

Tsai, C.-H. et al. (2016). ‘Perceptions of tourism impacts and community resilience to natural disasters’. Tourism Geographies, 18(2), pp. 152-173. Web.

Tucker, H., Shelton, E.J., & Bae, H. (2016). Post-disaster tourism: Towards a tourism of transition. Tourist Studies. Web.

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