Reducing the vulnerability of tourists to tsunami: challenges for decision-makers

Abstract

A near source or local tsunami, because of its close proximity to an affected area, cannot usually be predicted soon enough to mitigate many of the risks posed. The limited notice time in local tsunamis poses greater challenges for decision-makers than distant source tsunamis. Tsunamis affect coastal regions, where many of these areas are visited by tourists who often lack adequate knowledge of the hazards of the region. This study focuses on the risks tourists face during a local tsunami and discusses how to best protect tourists. Initially, a thematic literature analysis was performed to identify research gaps. Then, a case study methodology was adopted to obtain an in-depth understanding of how emergency management officials consider the management of tourists in evacuation planning. Napier, New Zealand, was used as a case study because it is a tourist town and vulnerable to tsunamis. Key decision-makers in the disaster management and tourist management sector were interviewed. The results outline three major initiatives that could lead to better tourist management and create better tsunami awareness for tourists. First, the risks posed to tourists can be reduced if emergency management officials collaborate with tourism agencies. Second, developing accurate evacuation simulations can show what would happen to tourists in a tsunami so that emergency management officials can be better prepared, and councils can improve evacuation planning and infrastructure to evacuate tourists and local communities safely. Third, educating tourists about evacuation plans will increase their readiness and enhance their safety.

Comparison of coastal tourism destination management against natural disasters of New Zealand and Indonesia

“…Research conducted by Fathianpour et al, (2023) explained that the impact of road congestion around beach tourism destinations in New Zealand made it difficult for evacuation functions to reach safe zones. Therefore, every hotel in New Zealand provides information on what to do in the event of a disaster and the information is provided in English to be able to facilitate foreign tourists who visit.…”

“…Tsunami impact on coastal areas. Many of these areas are visited by tourists who often lack adequate knowledge of the dangers at the region (Fathianpour et al, 2023). The decline of the number of tourists causes by the lack of safety guarantees when visiting the region, this is due to the lack of information about early warning systems, lack of knowledge of tourists in disaster management, and the absence of information about early warning systems (Situmorang, 2021).…”

Mapping the exposure of tourism to weather extremes: the need for a spatially-explicit gridded dataset for disaster risk reduction

“…For instance, disaster risk management and climate change adaptation are areas that can particularly benefit from a detailed and spatially-explicit tourism database. When a disaster hits, preparedness is of utmost importance (Bello et al 2021) in a tourism-focus context as tourists often find themselves in an unfamiliar environment where language and services can be very different from their expectations, thus increasing their vulnerability to disasters (Hansson et al 2020b); thus, having access to detailed spatial information pertaining to touristic attractions can enhance integrated disaster risk management approaches (SFDRR 2015) as in the planning and development of emergency response plans (Fathianpour et al 2023). Similarly, the tourism sector can build resilience to climate change by leveraging on detailed spatially-explicit tourism information thus allowing for the integration of climate risks and tourism-related information to develop adaptive strategies that promote sustainable tourism development and reduce exposure to natural hazards (European Commission 2010).…”