Disaster Tourism as a Tool for Disaster Story Telling
Naoto Tanaka, Ikaptra, Satoru Kusano, Mariko Yamazaki, Kazuo Matsumoto, Sanriku Railway, Iwate, Japan, Governor’s Office, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kumamoto, Japan
Abstract
Tourism helps communities sustain the memories of disaster and pass on live lessons. On the other hand, the memories and experiences of disaster and reconstruction thereafter constitute an important part of local resources for tourism that contribute to the development of local economies. In Indonesia, such tourism is even associated with sustainable tourism. In a particular type of tourism characterized by locally organized programs that exploits the indigenous resources and contacts with local resident, telling live lessons plays a pivotal role in linking pre- and post-devastation, local resident and visitors, and areas with and without disaster experiences. Here, we examine the significance of tourism as a forum for learning from and connecting with areas hit by disasters from the viewpoint of three “Links.” That is, “linking between pre- and post-devastation,” “linking between local resident and visitors,” and “linking between areas with and without disaster experiences.”