Development of an Early Warning and Incident Response System for the Protection of Visitors from Natural Hazards in Important Outdoor Sites in Greece

Chrysostomos Psaroudakis,Vassiliki Varela,Ilias Gkotsis,Anna Karvouniari,Antonios Barnias,Konstantinos Kaoukis,Dimitris Stavrakoudis,Petros Antakis,Spyridon Agorgianitis,Aikaterini Christopoulou,Diamando Vlachogiannis,Athanasios Sfetsos,Ioannis Chasiotis,Gavriil Xanthopoulos,Ioannis Z Gitas

doi:10.3390/su13095143

Abstract

Safety in touristic destinations is of utmost importance since tourists’ preferences change frequently in response to emerging threats. Natural hazards are a significant risk and, as such, they need to be considered in the effort for safe tourism. Services and systems monitoring and predicting extreme natural phenomena and disasters in sites of special tourist and cultural interest can lead to more effective risk management and incident response. This paper presents Xenios, a system under development in Greece that provides early warning and risk communication services via web-based and mobile phone applications. We present the user requirements analysis contacted, which led to the design of a modular system architecture through a formal Business Process Model procedure. Currently, early warning systems for wildfire, floods, and extreme weather events are offered, based on a fusion of information from satellite imagery, meteorological forecasts, and risk estimation models. Moreover, visitors’ dispersion monitoring via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Wi-Fi connection signals is also offered, along with emergency response planning and ticketing system’s interfacing. The system is built around a modular architecture that permits the easy integration of new subsystems or other danger forecasting modules, depending on the site’s actual needs and limitations. Xenios also provides a mobile app for site visitors, which establishes a communication link for sending alarms, but also serves them with useful tourist information, so that they are encouraged to download and use the app. Finally, the opportunities for supporting a viable business model are also discussed. The results of this study could prove useful in designing other natural risk management systems for sites of cultural and natural interest.

Highlights

IntroductionIn many places (cities, islands, regions) the economy is based on tourism, which—under certain conditions—has proven to be a key driver for growth
Weather forecasts are served to the Xenios platform users for each site-specific 1 × 1 km grid cell of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-ARF model, as shown in requiring fine-tuning, whereas the translation is not full yet
The natural hazard forecast within Xenios aims to timely inform field operators regarding the possible occurrence of phenomena that could cause disasters and endanger site visitors and staff

Summary

Introduction

In many places (cities, islands, regions) the economy is based on tourism, which—under certain conditions—has proven to be a key driver for growth This is attributed to the nature of tourism as an activity, which develops primarily at a regional and local level. As tourism is not an obligatory activity and is associated with well-being, its growth is vulnerable to a host of factors that can range from political and financial crises to socioeconomic changes, to disease epidemics, or even to terrorism [5] Key among these factors is the issue of safety because tourists—as a rule—have every reason to avoid places where serious safety concerns may exist. The impacts of natural disasters in tourist destinations can be manifold and severe [6]

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