What tourist business managers must learn from disaster research.

Death and social disruption caused by disasters of varying forms will continue to increase in the future. So too will the impacts on tourism, now one of the fastest growing and largest sectors of the worldwide economy. Tourist business managers must implement evidence-based preparedness activities to enhance the survival potential and future profitability of their firms. Drawing upon recent research studies of the tourist industry during times of crisis and the broad social science knowledge base regarding human responses to disaster, seven key lessons are described. Emergency managers must facilitate the incorporation of these lessons into the culture of tourist business managers.

Emergency managers as community change agents: an expanded vision of the profession.

Reflecting the historical evolution of attack preparedness, technological failures, and so-called natural disaster events, the profession of emergency management confronts new challenges today. In part, these reflect important cultural differences among stakeholder groups, especially local emergency managers. homeland security personnel, and those focused on public health threats and business continuity. An expanded and more strategic vision of the profession is required wherein fundamental assumption sets are placed into broader contexts. Contrary to the drift experienced in the US during the past decade, a major paradigm shift is required reflecting new orientations and program priorities.

Disaster warning and evacuation responses by private business employees

When people are advised that their place of employment is threatened with disaster, how do the respond? Interviews with employees (n=406) of 118 businesses affected by one of seven recent disaster provide the first answers to this question. Multivariate analyses document the key variables that the best predict variation are: 1)emergent perception of risk; 2)time of evacuation from work; 3)time of evacuation from home; 4)multiple evacuations; and 5)tension between work and family commitments. When warned of impending disaster, most employees initially responded with denial. Gradually, however, emergent perceptions of risk intensified especially among those living in communities in which the least amount of disaster planning had occurred or who resided in a mobile home or apatment. Highest levels of work and family tensions during these evacuations were reported by racial minority employees who had children living at home. Policy implications for these and other findings are discussed so as to pin-point changes business managers should make that will enable them to provide the leadership and compassion expected by employees. (AU)