Hazard and Tourists’ Attractions

Week Topics

  • Week 9: Hazard Risk and society through the lens of positionality. Introduction to the course.
  • Week 10: Anthropogenic and Natural Hazards
  • Week 11: Atmospheric Hazards and Geological Hazards
  • Week 12: New Brighton fieldtrip-NO IN CLASS SESSION REFLECTIVE WEEK
  • Week 13: The journey of society in the shade of hazardous environments. Exposure, Vulnerability, Resilience, Risk cycle and Disaster Management
  • Week 14: Recovery - Reconstructing organisations and tourism
  • Week 15: NO IN CLASS SESSION Independent Learning - Fieldwork Report
  • Week 16: Risk: social construction and perceptions REFLECTIVE WEEK
  • Week 17: Nevado del Ruiz example of turning point in Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Week 18: Links between culture and disasters
  • Week 19: Heritage and Hazard interactions: an introduction
  • Week 20: Hazard and Humans interactions heritage, Examples from around the world EASTER VACATION
  • Week 21: The scientific community interface with local population
  • Week 22: Natural Hazards and Tourism
  • Week 23: Hazard, Risk & Society: Course review

Hazards, Disasters, and Tourism

  • Source: Rucińska, D., and Lechowicz, M., 2014. Natural hazard and disaster tourism. Introduction to tourism motivation and tourism properties and function for tourism within societies

Disaster Impact on Tourism and Economy

  • The extent to which a disaster affects tourism and the economy fluctuates widely, depending on the destination's characteristics.
  • Destinations are likely to experience a downturn after disasters.
  • Key factors influencing tourism resilience:
    • Country-specific economic composition
    • Tourists’ visitation purposes
    • Type of tourism resources
  • Tourism authorities might consider turning affected areas into tourist attractions to shorten the downturn using the reconstruction effect. Source: Min et al., 2020

Human Reactions to Natural Hazards and Disasters

  • Tourism has been a major economic branch, generating 9.3\% of the global GDP (WTTC 2012).
  • In 2011, foreign recreational travels constituted 51\% on a global scale (UNWTO 2012).
  • Post-disaster recovery and reconstruction create new economic conditions, similar to post-war situations, leading to innovative infrastructure and investments.
  • Thailand Tsunami Example:
    • Following the 2004 tsunami, authorities created a museum dedicated to the event.
    • The museum, supported by a strong promotional campaign, attracts new tourists (Cohen 2005). Source: Rucińska, & Lechowicz, 2014

Dualism in Natural Hazards

  • Dualism exists as a concern for health and property versus the economic, scientific, and emotional interest in dangerous phenomena.
  • People naturally seek tension, experiences, and emotions.
  • Common behaviors include gawking and curiosity.
  • Examples include people watching rising river waters or taking pictures with volcanic eruptions in the background.
  • Examples: Fissure near Mount Fagradalsfjall 2021 Iceland, Kilauea in 1924 (Tilling et al. 2010). Source: Rucińska, & Lechowicz, 2014

Information, Education, and Emotions

  • Extreme events stay in our history and culture through stories and paintings.
  • Historical marks are preserved on buildings, such as marks of great flood water.
  • Numerous commemorative signs exist.
  • These serve as important elements of education and tourism.
  • Examples: Italy Flood Florence 1966, Galveston, TX

Volcanoes in Culture and Tourism

  • Volcanoes are elements of culture and religion, preserved in paintings from the 19th century.
  • Examples include graphic art, postcards, and photographs.
  • Mount Fuji (since 19th century) and Kilauea (1924) are prominent examples.
  • Vesuvius utilized cable cars for tourism, captured in photos by Thomas Cook from 1880 (Smith 1998).
  • Humans are attracted by the power of natural events.
  • Examples: Mount Fuji Japan, Vesuvius Italy

Mass Media and Hazards

  • Information broadcasted can motivate tourism ventures.
  • Mass media and marketing actively develop various forms of tourism.
  • These play on hazards and their effects, drawing human attention.
  • Roles include informative, educational, and sometimes journalistic extravagances during extreme conditions.
  • Reporting events impacts tourism (e.g., effects of tsunami reporting in Sri Lanka).
  • Tourists with purchased transport often proceed to destinations despite disasters (Różycki 2006), unknowingly participating in disaster tourism.
  • Examples: Tsunami 2011 Japan, Hurricane Katrina 2005, Tsunami of 2004 on the coast of Southeast Asia. Source: Rucińska, & Lechowicz, 2014

The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco example

  • The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco uses photos from the 1906 earthquake on its homepage, applying tragic history to marketing.
  • Catastrophes can also attract tourists.

Tourist Interest in Natural Hazards

  • New forms of tourism respond to social demand, with growing diversity (Różycki 2006).
  • This includes opportunities to visit places of potential risk.
  • Tourists are interested in natural hazards (earthquakes, volcanic activity, flooding, avalanches, landslides, tornadoes, storms) and disasters (2005 Hurricane Katrina, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, 2011 tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, 2010 Haiti earthquake), reflecting concern.
  • Exploring the dynamics or effects of these phenomena allows tourists to learn and undergo special experiences.

Tourist Interest in Natural and Extreme Experiences

  • Active tourism includes activities on the edge of human safety (rafting, canyoning, scuba diving, windsurfing, kitesurfing, speleology, climbing, trekking, survival).
  • The diversity, specifics, and originality of tourist regions, as well as unique phenomena, attract tourists to dangerous areas.
  • Individual emotions and experiences compensate for the risk.
  • Specific properties of natural elements attract this tourist group.

Volcanoes as Tourist Attractions

  • Factors contributing to volcanoes being seen as attractions:

    • Spectacular nature
    • Popularity
    • Accessibility
    • Association with other attractions
    • Extremeness
    • Mass media

  • Source: Tourist interest in natural hazards: volcanoes (Wąsowska 2008).

Location and Accessibility of Volcanic Sites

  • Accessibility is key.
  • The relation to other tourist attractions in the region matters.
  • Climbing a volcano can complement visits to nearby locations.
  • Extreme activity requires physical fitness and consideration of eruption hazards and volcanic exhalations.
  • Volcanoes offered by travel agencies include Etna, St. Helens, Stromboli, Hawaii, and Nevado del Ruiz.

Nicaragua Overview

  • Largest of the Central American Republics
  • Economy: Primarily agricultural
  • History: Autocratic governance
  • Imbalance in regional development: settlement and economic activity concentrated in the western half
  • Unique history: Colonized by both the Spanish and the British
  • Largest city: Managua

Nicaragua Socioeconomic Data

  • Nearly three-fifths of the population is urban (58.4%, 2018).
  • High unemployment rates and large external debt
  • Main sources of foreign income:
    • Remittances from Nicaraguans living abroad
    • Foreign assistance
    • Tourism (increased since the 1990s)
  • A majority of Nicaraguans live in poverty.
  • Agriculture, forestry, and fishing:
    • Engage one-third of the labor force
    • Produce one-fifth of the total national income
  • Rich in natural resources (gold, silver, zinc, copper, iron ore, lead, gypsum) but lacks financing for large-scale exploitation

Nicaragua’s Service Sector and Tourism

  • The service sector has grown considerably since the 1990s, employing about half of the active labor force.
  • Tourism has become one of the country’s leading industries.
  • Attractions for tourists include:
    • Atlantic and Pacific beaches
    • Volcanoes
    • Lakes
    • Cultural life

Infrastructure Damage in Nicaragua

  • In 1998, Hurricane Mitch destroyed large portions of roads in the Pacific coastal area.
  • While many roads have been rebuilt through international support, subsequent hurricanes have delayed complete reconstruction.

Nicaragua and Cerro Negro Volcano

  • The Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA) extends 1100 km from the border between Mexico and Guatemala to Costa Rica.
  • Generated by the northeasterly subduction of the Cocos Plate underneath the Caribbean Plate (DeMets, 2001).
  • Nicaragua is located in the middle of this volcanic chain.
  • West and south of the central mountain core is a string of 40 volcanoes along the Pacific coast.
  • Cerro Negro is Nicaragua’s youngest volcano.
  • Last eruption in 1999:
    • Boulders tumbled down the western slope, creating an ascendable path.
    • Wind deposited dark, smooth ash on the opposite side.
  • Source: Robidoux et al., 2017

Volcano Boarding in Nicaragua

  • In 2004, the smooth ash deposited in 1999 sparked the idea of volcano boarding.
  • According to Nick Porter, it is the only place in the world where you can sit upright on plywood and coast down the flank of an active volcano.

Volcano Boarding Details

  • Entrance fee: 5 USD; an additional 5 USD to be towed uphill by a local.
  • Boards provided by operators or rented at the park.
  • Hour-long hike up the volcano at 90 degrees F.
  • Path curves past four craters emitting sulfur and heat, a reminder of potential eruptions.
  • At the 2,388-foot summit, riders wear jumpsuits and goggles.
  • Brief lesson on maneuvering the board (sled with rope handle).
  • Feet are used to create friction for steering and speed control.

Guatemala Overview

  • Central American Republic
  • Dominance of an Indian culture within its interior uplands
  • Independence from Spain in the 1820s
  • Civil war from 1954 to 1996.
  • Southern Guatemala has 27 volcanoes extending 180 miles (300 km).
  • Between the volcanoes and the Pacific Ocean is a fertile plain ranging 25–30 miles (40–50 km) in width.

Guatemala Socioeconomic Data

  • More than half of the population is urban (53.9%, 2020).
  • Economy depends on traditional commercial crops like coffee, sugar, and bananas.
  • Government attempts to revitalize the economy by:
    • Diversifying and expanding nontraditional exports (cut flowers, snow peas)
    • Establishing free trade zones and assembly plants
  • More than half of the citizenry lives below the poverty line.
  • Remittances from Guatemalans living abroad exceed income from exports and tourism combined.

Guatemala Labour Force and Tourism

  • Two-fifths of the labor force are engaged in agriculture.
  • The same proportion is employed in the service sector.
  • One-fifth is working in manufacturing and construction.
  • More women entered the labor force in the 1990s, particularly from poor households.
  • Tourism became a main driver of Guatemala's economy, reporting over 1.8 billion USD in 2008.
  • Guatemala receives about two million tourists annually.
  • Increasing cruise ship visits to seaports lead to more tourists visiting the country.

Guatemala's Pacaya Volcano

  • Pacaya volcano in Guatemala is one of the most active volcanoes of the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA).

Hiking Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala

  • Located an hour and a half from Guatemala City and an hour and fifteen from Antigua.
  • First erupted over 23,000 years ago and is currently one of the most lively volcanos in Central America.
  • The most accessible volcano in Guatemala
  • Features food stands and opportunities to toast marshmallows on volcanic rock.

Tornado Chasing Overview

  • Tourists travel to central U.S. states like Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska for storm chasing.
  • Storm chasing has become increasingly popular for people from all over the world.
  • Involves going to