Okinawa is the most popular island resort destination in Japan, located south west of the country. Tourism being the largest industry in the region, the local economy is heavily dependent on tourism. Business sustainability in tourism is most important for the entire island society. Although Okinawa has not experienced a major earthquake and tsunami in recent years, there have been a number of huge tsunamis with heavy casualties in the past. Urged by the catastrophe in East Japan on March 11, 2011, the Governor of Okinawa has launched a three-year project to make Okinawa the safest destination in Japan.
The project includes the following sub-components: seminars and symposium to educate tourism stakeholders about the importance of crisis management; a series of workshops to develop tourism crisis management plans fit to each local destination; creating evacuation maps for visitors in major tourist areas; posting elevation signage in major tourist destinations and facilities; and developing an emergency information delivery system for tourism stakeholders and visitors
This paper discusses further detail of the project sub-components, not limited to the outcome of the project, but also the challenges in creating a crisis management plan in tourist destinations and in activating the plan in the event of crisis.
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