The impact of earthquakes on tourism businesses: Managing risk and capabilities

Abstract

In recent years tourism has been one of the fastest growing sectors of developed countries, and is a major contributor to the New Zealand economy (Morgan, Pritchard &Piggot, 2002; Orchiston, 2012; Statistics New Zealand, 2013), and has become particularly important in some smaller communities (Donaghey, 2006). Tourism today has global branding featuring diverse landscapes, people, cultures, and tourism activities as key concepts (Morgan et al., 2002; Orchiston, 2012). This type of tourism has now shaped New Zealand as a unique, entertaining and different destination. Natural disasters can cause serious disruption to the tourism sector. This is because tourism activity is often situated in destination areas susceptible to the impacts of these events (e.g., coastal areas, mountainous areas). It is generally accepted that science cannot adequately predict and provide timely alarm warnings in the case of some disasters (e.g., earthquakes) before they occur in order for industries, such as tourism, to prepare for the impact. The identification of business strategies as a response to these unexpected natural disasters, therefore, is an important first step towards reducing sectoral vulnerability and building resilience capacity.

This research explored tourism business responses to the 2010-2011 Christchurch Earthquake. This earthquake, and subsequent aftershocks, impacted significantly on the ability of these tourism to operate in the immediate aftermath of these seismic events. The results of this research suggest that immediate response strategies relating to operational safety and security were replaced by tourism operators with more strategic responses relating to planning capacity and the creation of substitute products and attractions. These substitute attractions, sometimes temporary, were regarded by business operators as a necessary tourism response to a changing (and often damaged or reduced) destination attraction base. These substitute attractions can be regarded as an innovative and creative business response which can help restore the viability of tourism businesses, as well as the wider sector, in a post-disaster setting. The research shows that a strategic approach with theoretical coherence is needed both for tourism management planning and also for promotion of tourism destinations, especially after disasters. This research therefore informs efforts to improve tourism business, requiring proper investment, collaborative approaches, and innovative thinking for disaster managers in New Zealand, and elsewhere.