An evaluation of the visitor action plan – Northland 2014

Abstract

Globally and nationally there is increasing interest in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and how it relates to tourists and their management. A variety of response frameworks have been developed (see for example Tourism Queensland 2009, or the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015) more broadly). In this report we evaluate the implementation of tourism and DRR approaches within the context of Northland, New Zealand. In 2012, research led to a tourism-specific disaster response template - the Visitor Action Plan (VAP). The VAP was specifically developed in response to concerns about actual and potential effects of cyclonic weather events and tsunamis on the Northland tourism sector and a lack of integration between Civil Defence and Emergency Management (CDEM) activities and tourism (Becken and Hughey 2013). The main purpose of this report is to present a formal evaluation of VAP implementation in Northland as a contribution to developing a DRR approach for tourism on the West Coast of the South Island. The remainder of this report is structured around: specifying aims and objectives, reviewing (briefly) pertinent evaluation literature and developing a framework against which to implement the evaluation, outlining the research methods, reporting and discussing the results, identifying issues and areas for improvement, and recommending future actions.