An earthquake disaster management mechanism based on risk assessment information for the tourism industry-a case study from the island of Taiwan

Although progress has been made in assessing risks in Taiwan, there remains a need to undertake risk assessment for the Taiwanese tourism industry. Although the conventional rules of thumb usually adopted by the insurance industry for damage assessment may be adequate in normal circumstances, this is not feasible for rare incidents for which there is very little reference material. One such example is earthquake damage. The average period of occurrence of major earthquake in Taiwan is about a hundred years, which makes it impossible to precisely assess average losses. In addition, earthquakes are not like some disasters (such as typhoons or epidemics) for which one can receive early warning. Thus, in this study, we seek to provide a practical mechanism for earthquake disaster risk assessment and management for the tourism industry, focusing on insurance and prevention. The primary objective is to integrate the relevant earth sciences, engineering and insurance data with the concepts of disaster risk management, taking into consideration the characteristics and sources of earthquake-related risks. In short, we develop an earthquake disaster assessment model to apply to risk management in the tourism industry. The practicality of the model is demonstrated with some examples related to the hotel industry in Hualien, Taiwan, an area plagued by frequent earthquakes. The results clearly show the efficacy of the proposed disaster assessment models for the tourism industry.     

The establishment of a rapid natural disaster risk assessment model for the tourism industry

At the current time, the Taiwan government is aggressively promoting projects, such as the so-called “Double Tourist Plan”, designed to encourage the development of the sightseeing related business. Operators in the tourist industry hope to construct facilities at or near scenic areas, which, given their special geography, are often adjacent to the mountains or the ocean. Unfortunately these are also the areas that most often experience natural disasters. This has a negative impact on the tourism industry. The centralization of tourist facilities, leading to the gathering of large numbers of visitors during the holiday seasons, can place people in danger. In other words, tourism operators in the Taiwan region face a high risk of natural disasters. It is difficult to assess such risks. Most of the existing models for catastrophe risk assessment consume huge amounts of time and are costly to use, so are more commonly applied for assessment at high-value facilities (such science-based industrial parks), rather than by the tourism industry, where economic factors are of greater concern. It is necessary to develop a simple and rapid assessment method that will allow ordinary business owners to carry out comprehensive risk analysis of tourist facilities. Thus, in this study, we explore various theories related to different kinds of natural disaster risk analysis mechanisms, with the goal of establishing a rapid risk assessment model suited to the tourism industry that can be used to quickly analyze disaster-forming characteristics and risk weaknesses in local regions. Furthermore, we incorporate an expert weighting process for assigning weightings for natural disaster risk index assessment. This method can help tourism asset owners prepare for the worst, and be capable of responding appropriately if and when such an event occurs. Good planning can effectively reduce the loss and risks associated with natural disasters and allow recovery work to commence sooner.     

In search of ‘a research front’ in cruise tourism studies

This article aims to provide a critical view of the global scientific production involved in cruise tourism study. Global references in this field were identified and emphasised for managing existing data to establish ‘bridges’ among researchers. Scientometric analysis was conducted on publications about cruise tourism in mainstream journals integrated into Web of Science. This methodology enabled us to identify current topics, relevant journals, authors, institutions, profitable countries, ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’ collaborative colleges and the research areas considered as the epicentre of the cruise tourism debate. A significant contribution of this work is the use of indicators at the three levels of scientometric complexity, i.e. scientific activity, impact and relational character.     

Examination of tourism undergraduates’ industry commitment,in the context of China

Grounded in the Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), this study developed a comprehensive research framework that encapsulated both personal and contextual factors in terms of tourism undergraduates’ commitment to career choice in the context of China’s social and vocational contexts. Applying structural equation modeling (SEM) to the data collected from 446 undergraduate students studying tourism in China, this study shows that “self-interest,” “others’ support,” “social status,” “outcome expectation” and “nature of work” exert significant effects on students’ commitment to career choice. Implications of the findings include suggested interventions in attracting tourism students to persist in their career path.     

Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: Monitoring local government planning under the Resource Management Act

In the light of the increasing pace and scale of tourism activity in New Zealand, the concept of sustainable tourism has become a key ingredient in the nation's tourism strategy. This paper explores sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand at the level of local government, and in particular, focuses on the implementation of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) as a mechanism for achieving sustainable tourism. Using the findings of a survey of Regional Councils and Territorial Local Authorities, the paper explores public sector planning responses to tourism impacts and sustainability concerns in New Zealand. The paper extends the earlier work of Page and Thorn (1997. Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: public sector planning responses. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 5(1): 59-77; 2002. Towards sustainable tourism development and planning in New Zealand: the public sector response revisited. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 10(3): 222-238), which identified major issues of concern at local council level with regard to tourism impacts and argued the need for a national vision for tourism to ensure that the RMA achieved its original goals. Since then, a national tourism strategy has been published and changes in legislation have further empowered local authorities to further progress the sustainability agenda. This paper examines these developments and the ensuing implications, concluding that significant progress has been made in developing tourism policies at the local level, but that a number of constraints and issues limit the development of New Zealand as a sustainable destination.     

Human resource systems as antecedents of hotel industry market orientation: An empirical study in the Canary Islands, Spain

This paper studies how the different dimensions determining the human resource management system (recruiting, training, evaluation and compensation) influence the market orientation of hotels. There is also an exploratory analysis of the differences in the human resource management systems according to the following hotel classification data: star rating, size, ownership, time-share offer, type of location, customer satisfaction and profitability.