Exploring disaster resilience within the hotel sector: A systematic review of literature

Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2017 Jun:22:362-370. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.02.005. Epub 2017 Feb 6.

Abstract

Within the tourism industry, the hotel sector's vulnerabilities are multi-faceted. This literature discussion scrutinizes how disaster and resilience is framed for the tourism sector, and, more specifically, how the concepts can be applied to the hotel sector. A synthesis of the literature points to the importance of prioritizing disaster resilience building for the hotel sector. The body of literature regarding disasters, tourism, and more specifically hotels, has increased over the last 20 years, still improvements in the hotel sector's disaster preparedness and do not appear to be on the same trajectory. Illustrating the predicament of the contemporary hotel industry serves to open a discussion about the value of building resiliency to disaster for hotels. As the numbers of people affected by disasters grows, the importance of providing actionable information to limit the severity of these events on communities also escalates in pace.

Keywords: Crisis; Disaster; Resilience; Sustainability; Tourism; Vulnerability.