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Ryukyu Shimpo morning edition
The Okinawa Convention and Visitors Bureau (OCVB, Chairman Yoshiro Shimoji) announced on the 26th the results of a tourism crisis management survey for tourism businesses in the prefecture regarding the response to the tsunami warning caused by the Taiwan earthquake that occurred on April 3rd. Approximately half of respondents answered that they did not have a response manual for disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, and 29.9% (43 cases) answered that they had conducted tsunami evacuation guidance training in the past. I stayed there.
In response to the tsunami warning announced on the 3rd, 68.8% (99 cases) carried out evacuation guidance. Reasons given for not implementing the plan included “I didn’t know where the evacuation site was,” and “The building was built on a hill, so there was no need for evacuation guidance.”
The most common issues identified through this response were “need to review/formulate manuals and conduct evacuation drills” at 25, followed by evacuation methods at 18 and guidance for inbound tourists at 8. There were calls for the government to deal with traffic congestion due to people evacuating by car and to improve information provision methods, including support for multiple languages.
Chairman Shimoji said, “The issue has become clear. We must prepare a manual that includes how to deal with people with disabilities and foreigners, and conduct sufficient training on a daily basis that takes into account the characteristics of the region.” did. In response to the results, OCVB created materials to learn about tourism crisis management and published them on its website. This year as well, we will hold study sessions and graphic training on tourism crisis management.
Responses to the questionnaire were received between the 12th and 18th from 144 companies, including hotels and transportation companies, affiliated with the Okinawa Industrial Tourism Industry Group Council and the Prefectural Tourism Association Council.
(Yonaha Tomohaya)
