Natural Disasters
Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes bring about a decline in tourism in the affected area. Climatic disasters have a devastating impact on destinations and on their tourist industry. An example is the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. The earthquake resulted in thousands of deaths. The death toll was appalling but the livelihood of the survivors was also threatened due to the devastation of the infrastructure. There was more than 220,000 people killed, 300,000 people injured and over one million people made homeless. Three years on from the earthquake and there are still over one million Haitians in need of humanitarian aid according to the United Nations. This includes 358,000 people still in camps, 500,00 people who are food insecure and around 73,500 children under the age of 5 facing malnutrition.
Two years after the earthquake, more than half a million people are still living in tents and makeshift shelters in Port-au-Prince. The UK public donated £107 million to the Disaster Emergency Committee. In the first six months after the earthquake the DEC used funds to reach the 1.8 million people with emergency aid. They decided that the appeal funds would be used over the three years instead of the usual two years because it was clear that Haiti faced a slow, hard road to recovery. DEC members undertook a wide range of activities to support recovery at a community level. In two years to July 2012 they helped more than 800,000 people including:
Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes bring about a decline in tourism in the affected area. Climatic disasters have a devastating impact on destinations and on their tourist industry. An example is the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. The earthquake resulted in thousands of deaths. The death toll was appalling but the livelihood of the survivors was also threatened due to the devastation of the infrastructure. There was more than 220,000 people killed, 300,000 people injured and over one million people made homeless. Three years on from the earthquake and there are still over one million Haitians in need of humanitarian aid according to the United Nations. This includes 358,000 people still in camps, 500,00 people who are food insecure and around 73,500 children under the age of 5 facing malnutrition.
Two years after the earthquake, more than half a million people are still living in tents and makeshift shelters in Port-au-Prince. The UK public donated £107 million to the Disaster Emergency Committee. In the first six months after the earthquake the DEC used funds to reach the 1.8 million people with emergency aid. They decided that the appeal funds would be used over the three years instead of the usual two years because it was clear that Haiti faced a slow, hard road to recovery. DEC members undertook a wide range of activities to support recovery at a community level. In two years to July 2012 they helped more than 800,000 people including:
- Improving the water supply of 340,000 people
- Providing free medical care to 39,000 people
- Giving tools and seeds to help 23,000 people in farming households support themselves
- Providing improved shelter for 34,000 people
This image shows the statistics of the amount of visitors that went to haiti from 1995-2011. It shows that its maximum amount of visitors was in 2009 with 387,000 visitors however, this decreased in 2010 to 255,000 visitors this is because of the 2010 earthquake that tourists were not visiting Haiti. The 2010 earthquake therefore had a effect of tourists travelling to Haiti, people were avoiding visiting Haiti because of the natural disaster and the amount of damage it caused. However, tourism statistics started to rise again in 2011 to 349,000 visitors this is because it is after the natural distaster and it was getting aid and help to repair the infrastructure and improve it.
In 2009 floods affected a tourist area of the Lake District, Cockermouth in the UK, bringing devastation to the area and its industries. The rivers Cocker and Derwent, which joined in Cockermouth, rose to a level that flooded much of central, leaving huge amounts of destruction, and most of the shops, restaurants and pubs in the town completely wrecked.The towns of Cockermouth and Workington experienced particularly severe flooding which inundated large numbers of properties and caused transport chaos. A police officer died in Workington after a road bridge collapsed.
At midday the river was high, but the Main Street was dry. By three pm – the water was a foot deep in the Main Street. By midnight a raging torrent was flowing down the Main Street and some of the side streets, including South St and Challoner St – about 5 feet deep, and up to 8 feet deep in places.It took a year before most of the businesses were back up and open. A temporary footbridge was built by the Army, and a temporary railway station built north of the river, with a free railway shuttle service between Workington
and Maryport.
Flood defence work is still ongoing (March 2013) but this is not causing disruption to the town itself. The silver lining to the floods is that the affected area has now been repaired to be even prettier than before with many of the affected businesses having their Georgian shop fronts restored.
The first months of 2010 were exceptionally difficult for tourism in Cumbria. A telephone survey conducted by Cumbria Tourism with 500 tourism businesses in April 2010 showed that 55% of businesses report profits down for the last 6 months. The biggest losses were recorded during November, December and January as the county reeled from the effects of flooding and snow and ice.
At midday the river was high, but the Main Street was dry. By three pm – the water was a foot deep in the Main Street. By midnight a raging torrent was flowing down the Main Street and some of the side streets, including South St and Challoner St – about 5 feet deep, and up to 8 feet deep in places.It took a year before most of the businesses were back up and open. A temporary footbridge was built by the Army, and a temporary railway station built north of the river, with a free railway shuttle service between Workington
and Maryport.
Flood defence work is still ongoing (March 2013) but this is not causing disruption to the town itself. The silver lining to the floods is that the affected area has now been repaired to be even prettier than before with many of the affected businesses having their Georgian shop fronts restored.
The first months of 2010 were exceptionally difficult for tourism in Cumbria. A telephone survey conducted by Cumbria Tourism with 500 tourism businesses in April 2010 showed that 55% of businesses report profits down for the last 6 months. The biggest losses were recorded during November, December and January as the county reeled from the effects of flooding and snow and ice.
This year in 2013, there was a Australia bush fire. The flames have destroyed hundreds of homes and this is because of the sun that heats up the oils in the trees green leaves. There has been tens of thousands of hectares have been burned. A local sports club was transformed into a disaster welfare centre offering food and advice to those who lost their homes.
However, this is not the first time that this as happened, Australia have experienced bush fires before in previous years. For example, 7th September 2009, Australia experienced its worst natural disaster in more than 100 years, when bushfires killed more than 200 people and destroyed more than 1800 homes in Victoria, Australia. These fires occurred on a day of high temperatures in south-east Australia, part of a heat wave that started 10 days early, and a record dry spell.
However, this is not the first time that this as happened, Australia have experienced bush fires before in previous years. For example, 7th September 2009, Australia experienced its worst natural disaster in more than 100 years, when bushfires killed more than 200 people and destroyed more than 1800 homes in Victoria, Australia. These fires occurred on a day of high temperatures in south-east Australia, part of a heat wave that started 10 days early, and a record dry spell.
Health warnings, epidemics and pandemics
Epidemic- an outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely within an area.
Pandemic- an epidemic of an infectious disease that spreads across a large region, for instance a continent, or even worldwide.
In 2009 an outbreak of swine flu began in Mexico. the immediate impact on tourism into Mexico was very serious as the flu quickly spread and people cancelled holidays to avoid it. People are discouraged from travelling to areas where there are epidemics, but it is impossible to contain disease in one country when people travel so frequently and easily across borders. Epidemics give rise to pandemics, such as swine flu in 2009. Many travel companies suffered losses due to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico in 2009. The British government advised people to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. Some people who were on holiday in Mexico at this time chose to end their holidays early and come home. This cost was covered by tour operators.
Epidemic- an outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely within an area.
Pandemic- an epidemic of an infectious disease that spreads across a large region, for instance a continent, or even worldwide.
In 2009 an outbreak of swine flu began in Mexico. the immediate impact on tourism into Mexico was very serious as the flu quickly spread and people cancelled holidays to avoid it. People are discouraged from travelling to areas where there are epidemics, but it is impossible to contain disease in one country when people travel so frequently and easily across borders. Epidemics give rise to pandemics, such as swine flu in 2009. Many travel companies suffered losses due to the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico in 2009. The British government advised people to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico. Some people who were on holiday in Mexico at this time chose to end their holidays early and come home. This cost was covered by tour operators.
Terrorism
In 2011, Anders Behring Breivik attacked Norway killing altogether 77 people. He first set off a bomb in a car, which the powerful blast killed eight people and injured hundreds. The explosion came as a shock to Norway and the people has it is usually a small, quiet nation. As the news of the blast spread Anders Behring Breivik boarded a ferry to the island of Utoya, he was armed and dressed in a police uniform. This where he went on a deadly shooting spree at the camp, killing 69 people, mostly teens.
In 2011, Anders Behring Breivik attacked Norway killing altogether 77 people. He first set off a bomb in a car, which the powerful blast killed eight people and injured hundreds. The explosion came as a shock to Norway and the people has it is usually a small, quiet nation. As the news of the blast spread Anders Behring Breivik boarded a ferry to the island of Utoya, he was armed and dressed in a police uniform. This where he went on a deadly shooting spree at the camp, killing 69 people, mostly teens.
Environmental Issues
As society and government policy become more green the awareness of tourists about environmental issues grows. This leads to a demand for responsibletravel and an expectation that companies will adopt environmentally friendly policies. There is also pressure from governments to reduce the carbon footprint of travel, particularly air travel. Airlines in the UK have responded by investing in more fuel efficient, quieter planes.
Cost of Travel
Travel is relatively cheap today, particularly air travel, and is no longer avaliable elite. The advent of low-cost airlines has bought down the cost of air travel. Long-haul travel prices are more fluid, but there are often bargains to be had off peak. Air travel is likely to become more expensive if proposed air passenger taxes are introduced. Rail travel is expensive in the UK but advance booking can result in favourable prices.
World Recession
The recession in 2008-2010 has had a big impact on tourism, even coining a new term in the UK, the staycation- a holiday staying in the UK rather than going abroad. As people took fewer holidays in this period, companies started to struggle and some went bankrupt, for example SKY Europe, a low-cost airline operating from Eastern Europe. Those people still employed during the recession could find lots of bargain holidays on offer. However, even the employed are still more reluctant to travel as they might feel insecure about keeping their jobs. As the economy improves, we can expect tourist numbers to increase.
Currency Exchange Rates
Currency exchange rates are linked to the recession as they reflect the strength of one currency and therefore the strength of that country's economy in relation to another. The effects of this is that, when the pound (GBP) is strong against the euro, UK outbound travellers can buy more euros for their money and therefore can have a sheaper holiday in Europe. However, a strong pound would similarly deter Europeans from coming to the UK as it would be more expensive for them. Travel and tourism organisations keep a close eye on exchange rates as they affect the prices they pay for accommodation and services in resorts.
As society and government policy become more green the awareness of tourists about environmental issues grows. This leads to a demand for responsibletravel and an expectation that companies will adopt environmentally friendly policies. There is also pressure from governments to reduce the carbon footprint of travel, particularly air travel. Airlines in the UK have responded by investing in more fuel efficient, quieter planes.
Cost of Travel
Travel is relatively cheap today, particularly air travel, and is no longer avaliable elite. The advent of low-cost airlines has bought down the cost of air travel. Long-haul travel prices are more fluid, but there are often bargains to be had off peak. Air travel is likely to become more expensive if proposed air passenger taxes are introduced. Rail travel is expensive in the UK but advance booking can result in favourable prices.
World Recession
The recession in 2008-2010 has had a big impact on tourism, even coining a new term in the UK, the staycation- a holiday staying in the UK rather than going abroad. As people took fewer holidays in this period, companies started to struggle and some went bankrupt, for example SKY Europe, a low-cost airline operating from Eastern Europe. Those people still employed during the recession could find lots of bargain holidays on offer. However, even the employed are still more reluctant to travel as they might feel insecure about keeping their jobs. As the economy improves, we can expect tourist numbers to increase.
Currency Exchange Rates
Currency exchange rates are linked to the recession as they reflect the strength of one currency and therefore the strength of that country's economy in relation to another. The effects of this is that, when the pound (GBP) is strong against the euro, UK outbound travellers can buy more euros for their money and therefore can have a sheaper holiday in Europe. However, a strong pound would similarly deter Europeans from coming to the UK as it would be more expensive for them. Travel and tourism organisations keep a close eye on exchange rates as they affect the prices they pay for accommodation and services in resorts.