Tourism business preparedness, resilience and disaster planning in a region of high seismic risk: the case of the Southern Alps, New Zealand

Abstract

This article examines tourism business disaster planning in areas at risk from low-frequency/high-consequence natural disasters. It presents empirical findings from a tourism business survey in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, an area with high seismic risk that supports a tourism industry comprising many micro-sized, owner-operated businesses. The Alpine Fault is a 450 km geological structure running the length of the Southern Alps, and is considered overdue for a M7.8–8.0 earthquake. A survey of tourism business operators revealed generally poor levels of perceived preparedness and actual planning for a future earthquake disaster, particularly amongst micro-sized businesses. The presence or absence of business resilience ‘tools’ was investigated, all of which are more common in businesses with higher incomes. The article draws on tourism disaster planning and business resilience literature to outline an alternative approach to disaster planning for small tourism-reliant communities. It describes community-based efforts to prepare in two remote Southern Alps townships, lending support to the concept of collective, community-led disaster planning.