1 an Investigation Into the Incorporation of Tourists In
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
An Investigation into the Incorporation of Tourists in Emergency Planning and Management with particular reference to the Island of Tenerife, Spain. Miss Katherine Helen Mary Donovan. Msc.Geophysical Hazards. Department of Earth Sciences, University College London. 2006 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Msc. in Geophysical Hazards at University College London. 1 Abstract. The 2004 Sumatran tsunami was a global catastrophe. Even countries that were not directly affected by the tsunami counted the casualties amongst their nationals who were visiting the affected regions. This global catastrophe emphasised the need for effective disaster management and planning and it also emphasised the necessity to incorporate the tourist within these plans and procedures. This project was therefore inspired by the 2004 tsunami. It investigates the current role tourists play in disaster management and to produce a set of factors which can be used as a guide to incorporate this vulnerable sector of society into emergency plans with particular reference to volcanic regions. An extensive literature review concluded that there are three stages to emergency planning: proactive; real time; and post activity. Within these stages 14 main factors were identified by the researcher as vital in incorporating tourists into emergency planning. These factors were then assessed in the field. The field work for this project was carried out in Tenerife, one of seven volcanic islands of the Canary Islands situated in the Atlantic ocean of the coast off North Africa. This island was chosen as a field work site due to its popularity as a tourist destination with an annual visitor number of over 5 million. The International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) categorised the islands summit volcano, Teide, as one of the highest risk in the world, due to it active eruptive history and the high population density in close proximity. The field work consisted of interviews and questionnaires designed for the main stakeholders. Following their completion the results found that the proactive management factors produced during the literature review were valid and robust. 2 Certain issues became apparent during the investigation. The first being the issue of responsibility and second a fear of discouraging tourists from a destination. The project concluded that a set a 14 simple factors could assist the incorporation of tourist into disaster plans. In addition this project found that Tenerife’s current emergency management and plans are highly unsatisfactory. In order to avoid a major catastrophe these plans must be developed, practised and put into use. 3 Contents. Title Page. 1 Abstract. 2 Contents. 4 Acknowledgments. 10 1: Introduction . 11 1.1: Objectives. 11 1.2: Logistics. 11 2: Disaster Management and Planning: Volcanic regions. 12 2.1: Proactive Management. 19 2.2: Real-time Management. 23 2.3: Post-activity Management. 24 3: Disaster management and Planning: Tourism. 25 3.1: Who is responsible for tourists’ safety? 28 3:2: Informing Tourists about Natural Hazards and Emergency Plans. 31 3.3: Resort Emergency Plans. 31 4: A Model to Incorporate Tourists in to Disaster Management and Planning. 32 4.1: Factors to assist in the Incorporation of Tourists into Disaster. Management and Planning. 37 5: Case Study: Tenerife, Spain. 39 5.1: Location. 39 5.2: Geological and Tectonic Setting. 41 5.2.1: The Formation of the Canary Islands. 41 5.2.2: Tenerife . 42 4 5.3: Eruptive History. 46 5.4: The Geophysical Hazards of Tenerife. 48 5.4.1: Volcanic Hazards. 48 5.4.2: Giant Volcanic Landslides. 55 5.4.3: Tsunami Hazard. 57 5.4.4: Meteorological Hazards. 59 5.4.5: Hazard and Risk Maps for Tenerife. 61 5.5: Tenerife’s Tourist Sector. 65 5.6: Current Emergency Management and Planning for Tenerife. 66 5.7: Methodology. 67 5.7.1: The Questionnaires. 67 5.7.2: The Participants. 68 5.7.3: The Pilot Survey. 68 5.7.4: Linguistics. 69 5.7.5: SPSS, Statistical Package for Social Scientists. 74 5.7.6: Problems Experienced whilst carrying out the Survey. 74 5.8 Results and Analysis. 75 5.8.1: Observations. 75 5.8.2: Assessing the Factors: Hotels/Resorts should provide in-room information on the natural hazards and emergency procedures of Tenerife. 78 5.8.3: Assessing the Factors: In an emergency tourist will turn to their hotel/resort staff for information and instructions. 84 5.8.4: Assessing the Factors: All hotels/resorts should be government mandate have an approved written emergency plan. 86 5 5.8.5: Who is responsible for tourists during natural disaster on Tenerife? 87 5.8.6: The Current Plans on Tenerife and the Incorporation of the Tourist Industry within these Plans. 93 6: Argumentation. 96 References. 100 Appendices. (All appendices are located at the back of this document). Appendix 1 Evolution of Tenerife. Appendix 2 Satellite image of Tenerife, with annotations. Appendix 3 Tourist zones of Tenerife. Appendix 4 Field work sites and tourist zones. Appendix 5 Questionnaires. Appendix 6 Raw data sheets from questionnaire results. Figures 1 The basic structure of an emergency plan. 17 2 The number of international tourist arrivals between 1950 and 2004. 25 3 International tourist fatalities recorded 5 days after the 2004 Sumatran Tsunami. 26 4 Location of the Canary Islands. 39 5 Map of Tenerife. 40 6 The hotspot theory for the Canary Islands. 41 6 7 Simplified geological map of Tenerife. 42 8 Volcanic cone density on Tenerife. 45 9 Tenerife’s hydrothermal system. 54 10 A 3D view of the landslide deposits of the Canary Islands. 56 11 Shaded relief map of Tenerife. 56 12 Diagram illustrating how a tsunami wave increases in height as it enters shallow water. 58 13 Ward and Day’s model: the potential La Palma Tsunami dissemination. 58 14 PDC and caldera collapse hazard map for Tenerife. 62 15 A zoned hazard map of Tenerife. 62 16 A risk map for Tenerife. 64 17 Number of tourists to Tenerife per year since 2000. 65 18 Nationalities of the tourists to Tenerife in 2005. 65 19 The results from statement 1 on Tourist questionnaire: “Hotels/resorts should provide in-room information on the natural hazards of Tenerife”. 79 20 Results from the tourist questionnaire comparing age, knowledge of natural hazards that affect Tenerife, and statement 1: “Hotels/resorts should provide in-room information on the natural hazards of Tenerife”. 80 21 A clustered bar chart illustrating the level of knowledge of natural hazards (how many the tourists could name, that were correct) compared with where the tourists were staying and their ages. 80 22 A clustered bar chart illustrating the general age of the tourists at each resort, taken from the tourist questionnaire. 81 23 Results from statement 2 on the tourist questionnaire: “Hotels /resorts should provide in-room information about emergency procedures”. 81 7 24 Results from the figures of authority questionnaire, statement 1: “Hotels/resorts should provide in-room information on natural hazards and emergency procedures”. 83 25 Results from the tourist and figures of authority questionnaires, from statements 3 and 2 respectively: “In an emergency tourists/I will turn to their/my hotel/resorts staff for information and instructions”. 85 26 Results from the figures of authority questionnaire, for statement 3: “All hotels/resorts should by government mandate have an approved written emergency plan”. 86 27 Clustered results from the figures of authority questionnaire for statement 4: “During an emergency the hotel/resort staffs have a responsiblility for the safety of their guests”. 88 28 Results form the figures of authority questionnaire, for statement 6: “Local governments have the responsibility to enforce proactive disaster procedures”. 89 29 Results from the figures of authority questionnaire, for statement 7: “Local governments are responsible for providing up to date training information and personnel to those involved in the tourist industry”. 90 30 Results form the figures of authority questionnaire, statement 8: “The tourist's home government have the responsibility to inform tourist’s relatives of the disaster situation and obtain details of their nationals”. 92 8 Plates: 1 A national park ranger giving a lecture about Mt St Helens to group of tourists. 36 2 Looking north along the cliff line of the Teno Massif. 44 3 Close up of the cliffs at Los Gigantes, the Teno Massif. 44 4 The town of Garachico. 49 5 A satellite image of Garachico. 50 6 Airfall deposits 10 km from Teide vent. 51 7 Hydrothermally altered rock 53 8 Flash flood waters rip through Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 2002. 59 9 The force of a flash flood piles cars and debris in the streets of the capital of Tenerife. 60 10 Satellite image of the Canary Islands enveloped in a Saharan dust storm. 60 11 Aerial photographs of Puerto de la Cruz with Teide in the back ground. 77 Tables: 1 Eruptive history. 46 2 The dimensions of the main airfall deposits. 51 3 Risk map data. 63 4 The Figures of Authority group details. 70 5 Tourist participants and subject descriptors. 73 9 Acknowledgements. This project was only possible with the support and guidance offered by many people. Firstly, I would like to thank Mr Christopher Crowley for his linguistic support in the field and for translating many questionnaires, articles and books. Secondly, I would like to thank Dr N. Perez for his time and invaluable advice while I was in Tenerife. I would also like to thank Dr Carmen Solana, University of Portsmouth, who over the years has supplied continuous support. I would like to express my thanks to all those who took part in my survey, particularly to all those figures of authority who so kindly completed my questionnaire and gave additional interviews.