Community Tourism Recovery Strategy

Restoring Disaster Areas through
Community based Tourism Youth-Led
E-LEARNING COURSE
MODULE N. 2
«NATURAL DISASTERS AND COMMUNITY
BASED TOURISM»

INDEX
◼ 1. Module Description.
◼ 2. Module Objectives
◼ 3. Natural disasters and community based tourism
3.1. Introduction
3.2 Effects of natural disasters on tourism
3.2 Some data about impact of natural disaster on tourism
3.3 Community-Based Tourism: A post-crisis recovery strategy in disaster Areas
3.4 What is community based tourism
3.5.Benefits of community-based tourism
3.6.Best practices
4. References
«NATURAL DISASTERS AND COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM»

1. Module Description
Tourism is determined by a wide range of factors and forces, including exogenous ones that have no direct link to the
tourism sector. Natural disasters and unexpected events are good examples of such determinants, as they have
profound effects on individuals and society. When a natural disaster or some other type of crisis occurs, the country
and specifically the tourist destination, loses thousands of visitors, which logically implies significant economic
losses, with local communities being the most vulnerable and affected in these cases.
In this context, it is essential to develop strategies that guarantee to the regions affected by disasters, the recovery of
the tourism sector from a perspective of sustainability and competitiveness that implies the inclusion and
empowerment of the community as a priority actor in the process of economic and social reactivation.
In this module, participants will analyze the effects of natural disasters and other critical events in the tourism sector
and will learn about the recovery strategy promoted by youth-led community-based tourism, that lies on providing job
opportunities to the youth of the localities damaged by catastrophic events , through the enhancement of local assets
owned by the community, thus creating a tourist alternative based on principles of sustainability, solidarity and
inclusion.

2. Module Objetives
Participants will develop key competencies for the implementation of the community tourism model in contexts
affected by natural disasters and other critical events.
For this the participants will learn:
- What is the impact in social and economic terms of natural disasters in tourist destinations
- What are the principles of community-based tourism
- How can community-based tourism be a reactivation strategy in disaster area
- How to identify opportunities that are available for the development of community-based tourism in disaster areas
- What is the role of youth in the development of community-based tourism strategies

3. Natural disasters and community based tourism
3.1 Introduction
Earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, bush fires, hurricanes,
droughts and heatwaves have always occurred. These events
have formed part of the wider ‘riskscape’ that humans have
learned to manage and live with. However, more recently
the impacts of disasters have increased substantially, partly
because of the exacerbating effects of climate change, but
also due to the growing complexity of socio-ecological
systems in a highly connected and globalized world.

3.2. Effects of natural disasters on tourism
Disasters constitute abrupt changes that shock the system in which tourism is embedded (Shondell Miller,
2008). The nature and extent of impacts depend on the type of shock and the resilience of the affected system
(OECD, 2014). Most disasters have profound impacts on individuals, organizations and communities, and
consequently on tourism activities.
Disasters and other forms of crises (e.g. epidemics, conflict, pollution), have the ability to affect the proper
functioning of operations and the results of sectors of the economy. By its very nature, tourism is a vulnerable
sector to a wider range of crises than other industries, the appearance of crises can become more frequent. This
is due to the fact that it is a sector based fundamentally on the expectations and confidence of visitors, small
disturbances can damage the image of the corresponding business or destination if the perception of the visitors
is negative.

3.3. Some data about impact of natural disaster on tourism
Mazzocchi and Montini (2001) assessed the impact on visits to the Umbria region in central Italy, following
a major earthquake in September 1997. The data showed that arrivals fell dramatically in the first month
after the main impact, with a continuing loss in tourism.
A case study of a volcanic eruption at the Eyjafjallajökull glacier in Iceland on March 14, 2010, showed that
the number of tourists to Iceland dropped by 49% until April 28, 2011 (Jónsdóttir, 2011).
Huang and Min (2002) analyzed the September 1999 Taiwan earthquake, using an integrated moving
average model to explore the recovery process. Their study revealed that the island's inbound arrivals had not
yet fully recovered from the devastation of the earthquake after 11 months.

Kuo, Chen, Tseng, Ju, and Huang (2008) also used a time series model to investigate the effects of infectious
diseases, such as avian flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome, on international tourist arrivals to Asia.
The empirical results indicated that the number of affected cases had a significant impact in the case of
SARS (see also Mao, Ding and Lee, 2010; McAleer, Huang, Kuo, Chen and Chang, 2010), but for avian flu.
According to the latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, International tourist arrivals
(overnight visitors) fell by 72% in January-October 2020 , low traveller confidence and important
restrictions on travel still in place, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline of tourism represents 900
million fewer international tourist arrivals, and translates into a loss of US$ 935 billion in export revenues
from international tourism, more than 10 times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic
crisis.

According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development published this Wednesday, the drop in international
tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic could cause a loss of more
than four trillion dollars in global GDP during the 2020 years and
2021.
The report, published in conjunction with the World Tourism
Organization, states that international tourism and its highly linked
sectors suffered an estimated loss of $ 2.4 trillion in 2020, following a
sharp drop in international tourist visits.

3. 4. Community-Based Tourism: A post-crisis recovery strategy in disaster Areas
In the short term, the consequences in business and tourist destinations can be economic losses caused by the decrease in the
arrival of tourists, cancellation of reservations, loss of confidence, or by efforts related to the return of the destination or business
to normal. However, in the long term the effect of these disasters is fading, because it has been proven that tourism is also a sector
with a great capacity for recovery.
This resilience and its transversal nature with other sectors give it a motor character in the restoration of the economy and make
tourism an ideal sector in which to start the efforts to recover a territory after a crisis. Effective crisis management can make the
tourism sector a catalyst for overall economic and social recovery.
The crisis generated by the various catastrophic events in tourist destinations could represent an opportunity to guide consumers
and suppliers of the chain towards the path of sustainability. Tourism in this sense can be an instrument of recovery that takes into
account the balance between the needs and desires of people and the long-term conservation of the environment and resources. In
this context, the development of community-based tourism is viewed as a strategy, in the process of human reactivation in
disaster-affected areas.

3.5. What is Community Based Tourism?
Tourism development that involves the participation of the local population can promote several important
objectives. These include faster economic growth in the regions, improved well-being and equity,
empowerment of the local population, valorization of community assets, conservation of resources,
diversification of the tourism product, among others.
Community-based tourism is proposed as a form of sustainable tourism, which seeks on the one hand to
improve the socioeconomic development of the population in the local communities of the destination, and on
the other, it aims to preserve and promote respect for natural resources, heritage and culture, through its
enhancement and the implementation of new sustainable forms of management.

The development of community tourism in disadvantaged areas can help generate economic resources in local
populations, thus contributing to the social and economic development of the population and the destination.
In addition, this form of tourism can generate greater awareness of the local community, promoting aspects
such as conservation and respect for nature and other existing resources in the destination
Visit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVCO1Lzx_CM

Economics
CBT provides employment opportunities, revenue generation, local procurement of
goods and service and limits the funds that leave the community. It also helps
diversify the economic activities beyond farming, which reduces risk in years when
climate change produces low or no yield.
CBT provides employment opportunities, revenue generation, local procurement of
goods and service and limits the funds that leave the community. It also helps
diversify the economic activities beyond farming, which reduces risk in years when
climate change produces low or no yield.
Conservation of the environment, awareness and wildlife protection are all great
benefits of CBT.
3.5. Benefits of community-based tourism
Shared value
Environmental

Social
CBT provides people with skills-training, opportunities for community
infrastructure development (power, roads, sanitation, water) and health benefits
(water and waste management education). It also promotes a more equitable
community structure and the association with foreign travellers helps raise
confidence and pride among the people.
One of the greatest results is the empowerment of women and youth in the
community, as they are often largely responsible for the management and
generation of the experience and therefore the income.
Often CBT prevents young people in communities leaving for larger cities, by
providing employment opportunities for them locally, in addition to valuing the
assets of their contexts, the sense of identity is reinforced.
Female and youth
empowerment
Preservation of culture
and identity

3.6. Best practices
Kikil, Yucatan, Mexico
Kikil is a hidden paradise in the eastern Yucatan. The community, with less than 200 inhabitants, is located 4.5
kilometers from the municipal seat of Tizimín and one hour 50 minutes from Mérida.
The place keeps many stories of the Franciscan friars, it was the first church founded, and the most parishes of
the surrounding municipalities depended on it. The place offers a museum with the pieces that were rescued
from the church.
The most attractive thing about the place is its open cenote with a depth greater than 50 meters, a diameter of
just over 30 meters and a distance from the surface to the water mirror of about 6 meters on average. Unlike
other tourist cenotes, it preserves its natural characteristics without modification, and its original flora and fauna,
which is liked by lovers of nature and ecological tourism

◼ Best practices
In 2015, a cooperative was formed with 13 families from the
community, and with the support they received at that time from
the Commission of Indigenous Peoples (CDI), they managed to
improve the cenote and turn it into a tourist parador.
From being a dirty place, full of mud and the hiding place for
young people to get drunk, it became a tourist attraction and
source of income for the families of the community. As part of its
attractions, the cenote has hosted Mayan ceremonies such as the
Chá-chaac, to ask for water in the region. Currently the cenote and
the church receive the visit of national and international tourists
who are amazed by the place.
Visit:
https://edepot.wur.nl/422175

4. References
• Rosselló, J., Becken, S., & Santana-Gallego, M. (2020). The effects of natural disasters on international tourism: A global analysis.
Tourism management, 79, 104080. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104080
• Rodríguez-Toubes, D., & Alvarez, J.(2013). Tourism vulnerability and institutional communication facing disasters: case studies.
REDMARKA. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Dialnet-VulnerabilidadDelTurismoYComunicacionInstitucional-4616885.pdf
• Community-based tourism. Intrepid. (2021). https://www.intrepidtravel.com/en/community-based-tourism
• Becken S. (2015). What can tourists do to help, not hinder, Nepal’s quake recovery? The Conversation.
http://theconversation.com/what-can-tourists-do-to-help-not-hinder-nepals-quake-recovery-41514 3
• Ashley, C., & Garland, E. B. (1994). Promoting Community-Based Tourism Development: Why, What, and How?. (Vol. 4). Directorate of
Environmental Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

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