PRT 595 – Disaster

Course Reflection:

Throughout this course, Niche Tourism as Sustainable Community, we have addressed multiple topics relating to tourism to include the visitor experience, and food based tourism, , and the economic impact of tourism. Throughout, I found that I was able to somehow relate each topic to an experience in my current life, whether through work or professionally and enjoyed delving deeper into each topic and learning what others had to share regarding their experience and knowledge in the topic of niche tourism.

I believe that when most people think of tourism, they automatically think of . After all, most of the time when we are acting as a tourist, we are on some type of outside of our normal area of residence. This is obviously not true in all circumstances, but I believe if you polled the general public they would think of tourism as the idea of visiting an area not close to home. This may include visiting a , park, or destination for pleasure. We learned in the first week of class that tourism has multiple definitions. It can be measured by the numbers of miles one from home, if they stay overnight or if they‟ve crossed city, county, state or country boundaries (“Community Tourism Development”, pg. 1). There are multiple names for these different types of tourism to include , internal tourism, international visitor, etc. (“Community Tourism Development”, pg. 2) The main difference that I think most would take away is that a tourist is someone who travels for recreation or leisure whereas a traveler is someone who travels for any reason – maybe work or research (“Community Tourism Development”, p. 2). One question I took away from these readings was how did most communities define tourism when people were traveling to their city or town? I currently work for the Town of Harrisburg, located in Cabarrus County. We are minutes from Charlotte and Concord, NC. Although we do not specifically note how we determine who a tourist is to our community, if I had to define it I would say someone who did not live within 50 miles of Harrisburg. Because we are surrounded so closely by Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, it wouldn‟t be fair to define a tourist as someone who lived outside of Cabarrus County. Essentially that would mean every time I to Harrisburg to go to the park I would be a tourist, since I am a Mecklenburg County resident.

Another topic we discussed was the idea of creating a visitor experience. During our first week‟s post, the class discussed the importance of the “experience” and what challenges some have faced. I focused on the Harrisburg July 4th Celebration that is held annually in our community and put on by the Parks and Recreation Department for which I work for. I have discussed this event often in this class because I have found it to be one of the only events that we as parks and recreation professionals put on in Harrisburg that truly attracts tourists from outside of our county and state and well beyond the 50 mile radius that I defined earlier. I believe that each visitor to this event has a different experience, but feel some of the activities we provide contribute to that experience. First of all, I believe we are the only festival in the area that provides two full nights of free fireworks. Secondly, we have two days of musical entertainment to include name bands such as The Catalinas and The Fantastic Shakers. There are also amusements, a July 4th parade, vendors, both food and commercial/arts and crafts and a Miss July 4th Pageant. I think ones motivation for attending the event affects the kind of experience they may have. I think challenges staff have to face include providing good customer service,

Shawn Marble Page 1 clean facilities, an organized event and quality programming. If a visitor comes expecting a great fireworks show and the fireworks show only lasts five minutes, the visitor cannot see it, the park is dirty or the restrooms aren‟t accessible they will not have a good experience. However, if the show is played to music, is lengthy and highly visible, the park is clean and there are plenty of restrooms it is hopeful the visitor will walk away with a great memory of the show and will attend the event again the following year.

Throughout the course we discussed specific types of tourism to include ecotourism, agritourism and food based tourism. I found these topics very interesting and the videos and readings that came along with them provided some insightful information. We discussed in class the definition of agritourism and whether the average consumer understood this term. It was determined that the average person may not understand that term, but that once some examples were provided, most would find that they have experienced agritourism. The definition my group came up with as a general definition was “any type of agricultural based operation, a product or service, which brings in tourism.” Examples of this includrf farm tours, hayrides, corn mazes or „you pick‟ farms where one can pick their own produce. During our discussions on ecotourism we talked about the idea of sustainability and whether or not tourism practices could positively contribute to sustainable development. I again discussed the July 4th Celebration in Harrisburg and agreed that this festival contributed to sustainable development because it not only brought tourism into the area which brings money to local businesses, but it contributes socially by providing a sense of pride in the community as well as making people aware of Harrisburg and the park where the event is held which I believe will contribute to long term efforts to preserve the park and the environment. One of my favorite topics we discussed was that of food based tourism. Who doesn‟t love food, traveling to eat somewhere new or providing food experiences for others to experience? I found the video on the “Farm to Fork” festival in Hurdle Mills so interesting for multiple reasons. First of all, that is where my sister lives and many people have never even heard of Hurdle Mills, NC. Secondly, what a cool idea to incorporate local farms and food producers into a festival that truly recognizes the culture of an area. It went beyond a local farmer‟s market to allow people to taste cooked food with local produce and sample a taste of a local bluegrass band. They also got to meet the people behind these farms. I think this festival provided a great experience for Hurdle Mills residents as well as anyone traveling to the area. It was truly representative of the area and provides a genuine experience that one may not be able to experience in a larger city or non-farming community.

As we wrapped up the course we discussed economic impact and different ways to evaluate the festivals, events and tourism destinations we all currently create, manage or operate. Although the idea of financially analyzing something does not excite me one bit, I did find the discussion on evaluations beneficial. We currently do not evaluate our programs and events on a regular basis although I know how important it is to do so. Unfortunately, due to a lack of staff, time and money, we have not been able to incorporate evaluation thus far. However, I think that simple things such as surveys at the event could potentially provide us with good information about not only who our consumer is but what we can do in the future to improve the event. I found the document from National Recreation and Park Association a very straightforward and understandable way for the Parks and Recreation professional to perform an economic impact study. I do not have a lot of experience in economic impact studies although I have heard this term quite a bit in my career and my first experience with learning the flaws of it was actually in

Shawn Marble Page 2 our advanced fiscal management class as part of my Master‟s program. As I was studying whether a stadium should be built in a city I learned that depending on who is hired to do the economic impact study, flaws can be found in about any study. This was reaffirmed after reading Crompton‟s article “Economic Impact Studies: Instruments for Political Shenanigans?”

Overall, I found this course expanded on a lot of the basic knowledge I currently had. It gave me the time to learn more specifies of topics such as agritourism, economic impact studies and sustainability. I had some knowledge of all these topics and although I have thought more and learned more about it, I realize there is still a wealth of information out there if one wanted it. I find the area of tourism very interesting and understanding people‟s motivations and the affect tourism has on a community and the environment worthy of future research and plan to implement some of the things we have learned in my current profession. Most of all, I enjoyed learning with other individuals who have a true interest in tourism and who work in a related field. I have found that sharing information is much more beneficial than being with a class that has no interest or background in the course. The best way to learn is from other‟s experiences and this course provided an outlet for just that.

Literature Review:

The type of niche tourism that will be focused on is disaster tourism. Disaster tourism is tourism following a natural disaster most of the times. I am also going to talk about manmade disasters, but some claim that is part of grief tourism. I feel they all fall under the same realm of disasters and will use examples from both manmade and natural disasters.

Miller supports my statement by saying “to completely distinguish a natural disaster from a social disaster is misleading. As in the case of social disasters, many fundamental responses to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, produce powerful effects on cultural and social traditions (Miller, 2008, p. 117). Robbie agrees and states that “disaster tourism is used to designate tourism to sites of natural and human-made disasters” (2008, p. 257). Occasionally the term grief tourism is used, but it is a much newer term. One major example found in two specific readings was that of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina was such a profound example because of the devastation it had on New Orleans and the fact that New Orleans is described by author and native, DeMond Miller, as being a picturesque city with views of bayous, houses on stilts and water everywhere. Not to mention the unique culture and heritage that New Orleans and other surrounding cities of Louisiana have. The city of New Orleans has a culture rooted in music, food, drink and promiscuity (Miller, 2008, p. 120). In both articles by Miller and Robbie, one of the main ideas that is addressed is whether or not tour groups had the right to invade the rights and privacy of residents to exploit the disaster areas following Katrina for profit. Keep in mind that after 2008 there were few disaster areas left and the majority of major tourism returned to the city.

A question I had while learning of this topic was determining people‟s motivation in wanting to visit a site of disaster, such as New Orleans, or Ground Zero in New York. For some, as stated by Miller, “the disaster tour represents poverty on display and the chance to feel the pain of others,” (Miller, 2008, p. 127). Miller‟s article was particularly interesting because it was from the first person and Miller talked of his own experience in touring his hometown after Katrina.

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One motivation that was discovered by Robbie was the authenticity that these tours provided. Many tour groups used that term as part of their marketing and actually used locals to give their tours. By using locals the tour guides symbolized the people of New Orleans and a culture “that was as much of an attraction on the tour as the gutted houses” (Robbie, 2008, p. 261 ) In our talks of authenticity in class, we discussed what made a destination truly authentic. What I believe was discovered is that for something to be truly authentic, it has to occur naturally in an area or be the very first to have created something. It most cases, destinations are trying to replicate an authentic experience.

Although much research is focused on how disasters negatively affect tourism in cities and counties, few focus on the aspect of disaster tourism as these two articles have. Little information is provided other than small examples of how disasters have positively affected a community‟s tourism industry. China is one example. They have officially endorsed „disaster tourism‟ as a form of economic subsidy to devastated homes. Sections of China that were wiped out during massive earthquakes in 2008 were open to tourists (“Disaster, the Official Tour,” par. 1).

The controversy over whether it is ethical to use disaster sites as tourist sites will continue. As I read articles that hit close to home such as the ones on Hurricane Katrina, I can sympathize with the long time residents and home owners of such cities who have had to watch their communities be destroyed and then turned into an easy dollar for tour businesses. On the other hand, as seen in Robbie‟s article, “Touring Katrina: Authentic Identities and Disaster Tourism in New Orleans,” it also gave locals a chance to rebuild and share their history and culture as they worked as tour guides, which gave them a chance to share their stores, gave tours a truly authentic feel and provided income to these employees. In Miller‟s firsthand account, he talks of his struggles with his personal feelings of loss versus his professional feelings as a sociologist and what needed to be done to re-build his community. As it has been found that “travelers are increasingly becoming fascinated with visiting sites of high emotional impact,” such as Honolulu, the site of Pearl Harbor, or Auschwitz, the site of the Nazi concentration camps, I think disaster sites will continue to be popular tourist attractions.

After our studies, I find this actually may be a sustainable practice because although there are downfalls, in certain circumstances such as Pompeii, tourism can help with the restoration and preservation of that destination. It provides awareness and education to those that visit. It also provides a positive economic impact to the communities where these tourist sites are located. Ethically, there is more involved and the emotional, physical and economic impact that some have suffered because of these disasters should not be overlooked or forgotten.

U. S. Example of Disaster Tourism:

On September 11, 2001 the United States encountered one of the worst terrorist attacks it has ever experienced. During this attack, two hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City, also known as the Twin Towers. During this attack, everyone on board of the airplanes was killed and thousands who were working or visiting the Twin Towers were also killed. Police, fire and emergency personnel spent months and years cleaning up after this attack and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center have not been rebuilt. This year commemorates the 10th year since this attack. Since these attacks, the site of the Twin Towers

Shawn Marble Page 4 has now been made into a memorial site to honor the nearly 3,000 people killed during the attacks (“911 Memorial, Design Overview”, par. 1) on September 11th as well as the World Trade Center bombing in 1993.

In place of where the Trade towers previously stood are two reflecting pools that are nearly an acre in size and have the largest manmade waterfalls in North America. The names of all the victims of the 1993 and 2011 attack are engraved into bronze panels that edge the reflecting pools and “act as a powerful reminder of the largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil and the greatest single loss of rescue personnel in American history” (“911 Memorial, About the Memorial”, par. 1-2).

On November 9th of 2010, a Travel Report put the 9/11 Memorial Site put New York City at the top of the tourist destination site. A museum is expected to open in 2012 on the 10th year anniversary of 9/11. In addition, listed the 9/11 site as a top tourist destination for 2011 stating that “the history of Ground Zero and Memorial, which will honor those killed in the Sept. 11 and Feb. 1993 terrorist attacks, is compelling and cannot be ignored” (“911 Memorial, Top Travel Destinations Across the Board”, par. 1). Although a tragedy in United States history, the reaction of our nation and the memorial developed have been seen in a positive light.

I believe there are multiple reasons people want to visit this site. First of all, it is history. It‟s hard to believe but this happened ten years ago. It is like the first man walking on the moon or the assassination of John F. Kennedy. People remember exactly where they were when it happened and will pass those stories along to their children and grandchildren. This site also represents a unique and authentic experience. There is nowhere else in the world where this can be re-created. We all watched for months the videos and pictures of the 9/11 site, but nothing is like setting foot at ground zero to actually see the aftermath and the memorial that has been created.

I think this site provides sustainability for New York City in a multitude of ways. First of all, its success as a tourist destination brings wealth into the City of NY. Socially, it acts as a remembrance and honors those that lost their life. It brings pride to American citizens, especially New York City residents. And environmentally, they have turned a site of rubble, panic and despair into a beautiful memorial with ponds, waterfalls, trees and engraved walls. They have managed to bring peace and remembrance to an area so full of fear at one time. This site not only acts as a memorial, but brings a sense of National Pride to US Citizen‟s who believe that no one will threaten or attack the United States without retaliation.

International Example of Disaster Tourism:

Pompeii has been a tourist destination for 250 years. The city of Pompeii is in Italy. It is the site of the historical eruption of that lasted two years in AD 79. The volcanic eruption covered the city of Pompeii in several feet of ash and pumice. The city was discovered in 1749 after being hidden for 1700 years. Excavation over the last 200 plus years has provided insight into the city during the time of the Roman Empire (“Pompeii”, par. 1).

Since then, Pompeii has been one of Italy‟s most popular tourist destinations. The idea that people want to visit this disaster site of AD 79 is far from uncommon. An article published in the

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New York times in 1995 talks about how over 500 people wait in line daily at the ticket booth to purchase entry into Pompeii. Short tours of two hours are offered to hurry visitors through so the next tours may begin (Hofman, p. 1). Visitors in 2010 were offered the opportunity to watch a live excavation dig on at Pompeii.

Again, there are many reasons why people would want to visit Pompeii. I believe it goes well beyond history, although one can see great examples of how the Romans lived during that time. Not only can one see casts of volcano victims, they can see structures, art, and the grooves in the street from carts that traveled through town. A visitor would also have a large curiosity about Mt. Vesuvius and how a town was buried in ash from the volcanic eruption. This reason this site is one of such disaster is because Mt. Vesuvius sat dormant for a long period before erupting. In those times, detection services were not available and the people of Pompeii could not flee quickly enough. The hot ash and pumice that covered the city literally preserved what was there. Loaves of bread were found preserved in the baker‟s oven (“Mount Vesuvius”, par. 1-2). A visit to Pompeii not only provides a history lesson but an authentic experience unlike anything else. It brings a sense of excitement to visitors to think of the eruption and the panic that must have hit residents of Pompeii.

One can only imagine the economic impact that Italy receives based on the tourists that visit Pompeii. For international visitors, a day trip is impossible, so the money tourists spend spreads into , transportation, food and other destinations. One other reason people may visit this site is for the opportunity to eat unique cuisine and see other attractions in the area. Many tours, like the one I went on several years ago when I visited Italy, included stops in many cities and the tour of Pompeii was just one stop along the way. I was too young to understand the history behind this site, but would love to take a visit back to see it. When the Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC had an exhibition titled “A Day in Pompeii” the economic impact was figured at $8 million (“Discovery Place Releases a Day in Pompeii Economic Impact Figures”, par. 1-3). Although thousands came from outside the county to see the exhibit, it was by no means an authentic experience. However, it provided a different type of experience, one for those who may never get the opportunity to travel to Italy.

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References

9/11 memorial: About the memorial, design overview. (2011). Retrieved 8/1, 2011, from

http://www.911memorial.org/

Disaster - the official tour. (2009, July / August). New Internationalist, , 26.

Discovery place releases a day in pompeii economic impact figures. (2009). Retrieved 7/30,

2011, from http://www.discoveryplace.org/about/press/release/6/Discovery-Place-Releases-

A-Day-in-Pompeii-Economic-Impact-Figures

Hofman, P. (1995). Pompeii, perilously popular. Retrieved 8/1, 2011, from

http://www.nytimes.com.www.lib.ncsu.edu:2048/1995/08/13/travel/pompeii-perilously-

popular.html

Miller, d. (2008). Disaster tourism and disaster landscape attractions after hurricane katrina.

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2(2), 115-116-128.

Mount vesuvius. (2011). Retrieved 7/30, 2011, from

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/volcanoes/vmtvesuvius.html

Paul Hofman. (1995). Pompeii, perilously popular. Retrieved 8/1, 2011, from

http://www.nytimes.com.www.lib.ncsu.edu:2048/1995/08/13/travel/pompeii-perilously-

popular.html

Pompeii, the long deathly silence. (2010). Retrieved 8/1, 2010, from

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/pompeii/history.html

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Robbin, D. (2008). Touring katrina: Authentic identities and disaster tourism in new orleans.

Journal of , 3(4), 257-257-265. doi:10.1080/17438730802366557

University of Minnesota Tourism Center (2004). Community Tourism Development.

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