Catering for DRR with a multicultural, transient population: development and

application of the Visitor Action Plan

Ken HugheyLincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand

(Invited paper, South Island Civil Defence Emergency Management

Conference, Greymouth, 30-31 July 2014)

Who are these populations, where are they found, and what are they like?

Some context

Who are these populations?

• Tourists – domestic and international• Migrant workers – domestic and international• School pupils – domestic and international• University students – domestic and international• Others?

Where are they and how many?

• Remember NZ has a popn of c.4.5m people; 1m in the SI and the rest in the North.

• Others are virtually everywhere in the country, at any time, often in vast numbers, e.g.,:– Foreign school students: N=16,000 (in 2011), mainly in major

towns & cities (CTV Building in CHCH EQ)– Foreign university students: N= 80,000 (2011) - cities– Migrant workers: N=120,000 (2011) – varies, but CHCH – International visitors: N=2,500,0009 (2013) – everywhere

(with some overlap in numbers with above data)

Characteristics and issues:

• English often the 2nd or 3rd language: – challenging to communicate with?

• Highly mobile – in one place for less than a day or maybe up to 6-months: – of no fixed abode?

• Multiple forms of communication – cell, email, etc: – how best to communicate?

• Often use diverse and hard to track forms of transport/accommodation: camper vans, bikes, boarding, freedom camping: – how do you know where they are?

Developing an approach for dealing with these challenges within a tourism context:

Application to Northland

Tourism in Northland• Very seasonal, peak in January• Core products: coastal tourism and

cultural products• Winterless North, but …• Exposed to extreme climatic events

(floods, storms) and tsunamis• Key players: Destination Northland

and Tourism Development Group

Guest nights in Northland

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Wilma – 28-29 January 2011

A not a-typical Northland cyclonic scene (including July 2014!)

How tourism is affectedDirectly: safety, closures, cancellations

Indirectly: damaged assets, disruptions, negative media coverage

Wilma and tourism

• Many roads were cut• Many tourists were stranded• Much media interest• General view: ‘we were lucky’• Both Civil Defence and Tourism interests wanted

to know how well the event was ‘managed’• Interviewed key stakeholders in both CDEM and

the tourism industry …

Wilma-related findings• Tourism operators generally experienced with natural disasters• No formal warning system (or contact tree) for tourism

businesses• Freedom campers are a concern• No plan for communication to tourism stakeholders (in NZ and

overseas) during and after an event• Northland CDEM systems in place, but no formal integration of

tourism (We reviewed all NZ CDEM plans and found little or no reference to tourism in almost all (Queenstown an exception)

• Opportunity for greater integration of tourism aspects into disaster risk reduction (based on the Four Rs)

General Visitor Needs: Immediate• Visitor welfare

– Food and potentially clothing– Shelter (welfare centre/other accommodation)– Socio-psychological support

(e.g. through Victim Support or Salvation Army)• Information flows, different target groups - Important observations:

– Visitors are generally able to obtain information (e.g. many have mobile phones): language challenges

– Information centres are critical for information and assistance): language challenges

– TNZ website and channels are important): language challenges– The role of social media needs to be examined and opportunities

exploited): language challenges

General Visitor Needs: Flow-on

• Passports and Visas– Diplomatic implications when passports/visas are lost– Partnership between tourism organisations, education

organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Immigration NZ, embassies and others

• Families of Victims– Assistance required (socio-psychological, travel

arrangements, other logistics and formalities)– Specific information needs

Potential contribution of the Visitor Sector to CDEM

Tourism can play an important role in the Response:1. Assisting in dealing with displaced visitors2. Gathering of information from the tourism and education sectors

(how many and where?)3. Connecting Civil Defence with accommodation and other

hospitality (food/feeding/catering) services4. Providing external communications and dealing with the media5. Maintaining tourism activities (and economic flow on effects)

elsewhere in New Zealand (e.g. rebooking of itineraries)

Summary of tourism issues• Rescue and Missing people

– All people are treated the same– “Tracking down” of visitors is challenging

• Coordination and Communication– Challenges and gaps in the first 24 hours very typical for any disaster situation– Lack of consideration of visitor industry resulted in oversights in the immediate

response by Civil Defence– Different protocols for different organisations involved in offshore communication

• Destination image – False reporting, some sensationalism– Relationship with media essential to avoid damaging

reporting and to capitalise on media as communication channel– Overly negative travel advisories– Innovative campaigns important – see photo above

Taking a systematic approach to thinking about how tourism and CDEM can be integrated for better

management of multi-cultural and highly transient visitors

Disaster frameworksInternational

frameworks: PPRR (e.g. Hills, 1998 in

Ritchie, 2008)

Faulkner’s Framework (2001)New Zealand: the

Four Rs used in the CDEM framework

Prevention / Mitigation 1. Pre-event phase: contingency plans, scenario analyses, hazard assessments.

Reduction

Preparedness 2. Prodromal phase: due to an imminent disaster, early warning systems are activated and command centres are established.

Readiness

Response 3. Emergency phase: Actions are necessary to protect people and property.4. Intermediate phase: short term needs of people/tourists have to be addressed and media communication is critical.

Response

Recovery 5. Recovery phase: Rebuilding of infrastructure, marketing of destination. 6.Resolution phase: evaluation and feedback.

Recovery

Developing a Visitor Action Plan (VAP) for Northland

• Initial consultation • Two rounds of interviews• Business survey• In-depth meetings with CDEM and Destination

Northland• Workshop with Tourism Development Group• Final workshop with tourism stakeholders -

approval of VAP

Template for linking tourism into the existing Civil Defence structure (on the left hand side of the

Figure) based on the Northland case study

Tourism-specific Reduction

Northland CDEM Plan

Tourism Cluster Destination Northland

Tourism Development Group Business groups

Maori RTO i-Sites Other

Northland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group

Coordinating Executive Group CDEM Offices (regional and local)

Community Response Groups

Reduction

Tourism-specific Readiness

Tourism-specific Response

Tourism-specific Recovery

Readiness

Response

Recovery

Tourism Action Plan Community Response Plans

CIVIL DEFENCE TOURISM

Suggestions for what a Visitor Action Plan for tourism should contain (provided by

respondents to the tourism operator survey)

Reduction Readiness Response Recovery Not specific to

one of the Rs

Planning and

mitigation

Consultation and

education

Warning systems

(Early) Evacuation

and

communication

Rescue and welfare

Transportation

Communications

Rebuild

Assistance

Communications

Communications

Hazards

Other

Visitor Action Plan adopted by the Tourism Cluster in Northland – example components

Action Leadership PreparationReduct

ionIdentify, map, understand hazards for businesses

Civil Defence in partnership with Destination Northland

Use existing hazard assessments (e.g. tsunami maps) and ensure tourism operators know about them.

Readiness

Tourism linked into CEG Destination Northland Attend meetings of the Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) in CDEM.

Response

Destination Northland Crisis Plan

Destination Northland Hold a staff meeting and collect information on contact details and what people would do in an emergency;Perform emergency drills.

Recovery

External communications plan and templates

Destination Northland and businesses

Prepare templates and keep them in a readily available folder and electronically;Consider media training for emergency.

  Action Leadership (proposed) Preparation

Reduction Identify, map, understand hazards for businesses

Civil Defence in partnership with Destination Northland

Use existing hazard assessments (e.g. tsunami maps) and ensure tourism operators know about them

Workshop format?

Readiness Develop a Communication Network

I-site mgrs coordinate development of contact tree by sub region and by industry group (include DN manager)

Identify existing contact trees (e.g. CRPs, MANZ, etc.) Develop trees for gaps (consider new technology like twitter) Ensure that trees are linked to CD in most efficient way Discuss back up and data sharing protocols

  Tourism linked into CEG

Destination Northland Attend meetings of the Coordinating Executive Group in CDEM

  Annual Review TDG Allocate slot in meeting once a year to discuss CDEM issues (e.g. winter meeting); discuss upcoming issues

Use existing checklists (e.g. PATA, p. 51-58)

  Business Crisis “To-do” list and plan

Destination Northland in partnership with CD

Workshop format? Templates, e.g. Tourism Victoria

Response Destination Northland Crisis Plan

 

Destination Northland Hold a staff meeting and collect information on contact details and what people would do in an emergency (follow example of Positively Wellington)

Drill

  I-Site Crisis Plan I-Sites, either individually or collectively

Hold a staff meeting and collect information on contact details and what people would do in an emergency

Drill

Recovery Ensure tourism is well connected

TDG Keep informed and maintain contacts with important national and regional organisation that might assist recovery

  External comms plan and templates

Destination Northland and businesses

Prepare templates and keep them in a readily available folder and electronically

Consider media training for emergency

Where to from here?• Project recently approved (for KH and Susanne Becken, Griffith

University) with CDEM Resilience Collaborative Fund to:– Evaluate Northland experience – what is working, what isn’t,

what can we do better?– Apply that experience to the West Coast of the South Island

context• Consider how the VAP concept might be linked with an integrated

certification programme, e.g., Qualmark in New Zealand• Tie to international initiatives in this space• Raise the question more generally – would your region benefit from

closer links with Tourism and would this build resilience?

Summary• Tourism is probably more exposed to natural disasters

than any other ‘group’ in the population• Often, emergency management systems do not explicitly

consider tourism• Tourism’s concerns need to be addressed, and at the

same time tourism is an important resource• Tourist destinations are a suitable partner for disaster

management• A proactive approach is better than a reactive one

Contact: ken.hughey@lincoln.ac.nz