Residents Open Their Homes to Tourists When Disaster Strikes

Abstract

Residents open their homes to tourists when disaster strikes AcknowledgementsWe thank the Australian Research Council (ARC) for support under grants DP110101347 (salary support) and DP120103352 (project support). We thank Tim Coltman and Dominik Ernst for their comments on previous version of this manuscript. AbstractResidents are key stakeholders of tourism destinations. Yet, to date, no study has investigated if and how residents can contribute to destination recovery when a disaster hits. The emergence of peer-to-peer networks offers an efficient platform for residents to open their homes to displaced tourists. Such help is particularly critical if key tourist infrastructure is severely damaged. But are residents willing to open their homes and help in other ways? The present study adopts a scenario-based survey research design, including Australians who live in tourism regions and Australian tourists. Results indicate that (1) segments of residents willing to support the tourism industry in disaster situations exist, and (2) tourists are willing to accept residents' offers of support. The more immediate the emergency, the higher the willingness to help and accept help. These insights point to the potential of involving residents in destination recovery efforts.

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