Emerging Issues in Hospitality and Tourism

This article discusses the legal and regulatory concerns in disaster management in the context of the recent tsunami in Palu, Indonesia. It also highlights the impact of the disaster on the tourism and hospitality industry in the region.

Emerging Issues in Hospitality and Tourism
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Table of Contents
Overview of the Event/Incident 3
Recommended Policy Draft 4
Overview of the tourism and hospitality activity 4
Critical Analysis of Identified Legal and Regulatory Concerns 4
Policy Objectives 5
Stakeholders Involved 6
Validation Statement 8
References 10

Overview of the Event/Incident
On September 28, 2018, the island of Sulawesi with its main central province in Palu,
Indonesia experienced Tsunami (Beech, Suhartono and Paddock 2018). The earthquake was
caused as the tectonic plates moved horizontally with a magnitude of 7.5 sending destructive
waves into the coast (Paddock and Suhartono 2018). It was suggested that the tsunami originated
in Palu bay at 500mph causing the height of waves up to six metres (Beech, Suhartono and
Paddock 2018). The city was unprepared for the catastrophe leading to a death toll of 1700 as of
6th October (Beech, Suhartono and Paddock 2018). After the quake-tsunami, 191,000 people
were in urgent need of help as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (AFP.com 2018). Before the tsunami hit, there were aftershocks that
devastated the Sulawesi coast turning buildings to dust. Thousands of people were trapped and
buried in landslide in the nearby villages.
Palu tourism comprises of plains, hills and coastal beaches. The tourists called Palu ‘the
paradise under the equator’ due to its geographical characteristics. The devastating flood has
destroyed natural sights, parks, lakes and beaches. The disaster agencies are still trying to
recover bodies. In the Palu neighbourhood, the earthquake has swallowed over 1,700 houses
which is a home for over 380,000 people (Cnbc.com 2018). Hundreds of people are starving and
waiting to be medicated. There is threat of violence among survivors as the convoys carrying
food and water moved with police escorts while moving towards the city. Indonesia is too
familiar with earthquakes and tsunamis as is it seismically on an active Pacific Ring of Fire
(Cnbc.com 2018).

Recommended Policy Draft
Overview of the tourism and hospitality activity
Sulawesi is an Indonesian island comprising of coral reefs, dive sites such as the Togian
Islands and Bunaken National Park. Palu has Talise Beach, Drupadi Forest Home and Nosarara
Nosabatutu Monuments. The hospitality and tourism industry flourishes in Palu as they have
paragliding activities in Matantimali. The floods shall mainly affect West Sulawesi tourism. The
hospitality activities in West Sulawesi have Karampuang Island which is a beautiful spot for
snorkelling. Further, the tourism activity includes Pantai Dato which is located at a distance of 7
kilometre from the City of Majene. This island is unique as the visitors can stay in cottages made
of tree nuts and bamboo pole. It gives a sense of natural environment to the tourists as it is laid
out in the shade of trees. Another popular tourist destination in West Sulawesi is Air Terjun
Sambabo. It comprises of waterfall located at an altitude of 400 meters called the Waterfall
Sambabo which is often compared to the Niagara Falls in the United States (Indonesia-
tourism.com 2018).
Critical Analysis of Identified Legal and Regulatory Concerns
The government statistics of Indonesia reveal that an average of 2.75 disasters occur a
day over the 12-month period statistics (Reliefweb.int 2015). The International Regulations on
Human Rights comes into play as they protect human rights. However, there are no
comprehensive or recognized internationally agreed principles, rules or standards for the people
affected by natural disasters. The human rights protection extent is not limited to securing the
physical security and survival of the victims affected by floods (Paton and Johnston 2017). There
are three phases when an area is hit by natural disaster- need to get information in the pre-natural

disaster phase where education and preparation for evacuation may be provided. Second is the
need to ensure non-discrimination with regard to religious and cultural differences in the
distribution of assistance (Oloruntoba, Sridharan and Davison 2018). Third is the need to
monitor in the post-disaster phase which comprises of providing rehabilitation and boosts
recovery development (Reliefweb.int 2015).
The Law of the Republic of Indonesia, Number 24 of 2007, Concerning Disaster
Management is the legal framework of the country that bears the responsibility to safeguard
Indonesia from natural, artificial and social disasters (Dewi 2018). The Government of Indonesia
in its National Medium-Term Development Plan has strengthened the framework for disaster
prevention and response. However, it is argued that the disaster caused in Indonesia left the
people unprepared for it. The critics pointed fingers at the Meteorology, Climatology and
Geophysics Agency (BMKG) who ended the tsunami warning right before it hit the shore. It is
revealed that the people looked unaware of moving to higher ground after an earthquake even
when there was no tsunami warning. Therefore, it is revealed that the people in Palu had no idea
about taking primary measures from a quake as there is no training given to them. People in
Indonesia failed to anticipate the risks despite similar regular occurrences of disasters (Dewi
2018).
Policy Objectives
Following is the list of general objectives that must be created by the regulatory and legal
bodies for managing disasters like tsunami-
 Minimize disturbance of local government operations due to flood hazard events.

 Provide local and state agencies with updated information regarding the vulnerabilities
and mitigation initiatives.
 Be prepared to recover from a major disaster.
 Identification of repetitive losses of properties for future reduction of risk. Provide
participation of the stakeholders for ranking and assessment of risks.
 Establish partnerships among different government levels and business community for
consistent flood management practices including natural resource protection, public
education, property protection and capital improvements.
 Promote integration of disaster management policy into environmental protection policies
and socio-economic development policies (De Albuquerque et al. 2015).
Stakeholders Involved
There are several key parties that play a significant role in disaster management process.
Communities
These are the most vulnerable stakeholders in the disaster management and need to be
aware of potential negative impacts they are exposed to. Several communities in Indonesia need
to be educated so that they can respond quickly in cases of earthquakes or tsunamis (Kalkman
and de Waard 2017).
Local Governments
The local government must have considerable knowledge of the hazards to which the
entire community is exposed. Local government is a crucial stakeholder as they are involved in

the design and maintenance of warning systems. The local government can increase the safety of
local population and reduce loss of resources (Granville, Mehta, and Pike 2016).
National Governments
The national government is responsible for policies and frameworks that are directed
towards the most vulnerable populations. Early warning frameworks address the needs of
specific micro and macro factors.
Non-governmental organizations
The NGOs play a crucial role in raising awareness among individuals regarding
implementation of early warning systems. The NGOs also play advocacy role for ensuring early
warning on the agenda of government policy makers.
Media
Media plays a significant role in improving disaster consciousness of the general
population. It also acts as a link between the general public and agency (De Albuquerque et al.
2015).
International Bodies
The international bodies must provide support for national early warning activities and
foster exchange of knowledge and data between individual countries. They are also responsible
for providing technical assistance as required in the disaster management.
Scientific Community

This body provides specialized scientific input to the local governments and the
communities in developing warning systems. The scientific community analyse the risks faced
by the natural hazards.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The disaster field office conducts operations to determine the type and level of damages
caused. They also implement recovery programs such as public assistance and individual
assistance.
Validation Statement
The policy draft as proposed above can be validated as the previous studies and research
is reviewed with similar results. It is noted that the people affected in Indonesian tsunami were
inexperienced and unprepared for the disaster. Despite previous occurrences of quakes and
floods in the territory, the residents were not given proper education and training for reducing
loss of life and resources. It is justified that proper education and training could have helped the
people in saving loss of their resources. The death toll could have been lesser if there was early
warning from the regulatory and legal bodies (Granville, Mehta, and Pike 2016).
It is further argued that the tourism and hospitality is affected due to tsunami. The natural
environment has been disrupted by the tectonic movement of the plates. If the governmental and
regulatory bodies would have taken sufficient measures in training and educating the people, the
disaster prevention and response could have been stronger. Natural disasters are inevitable but
the intensity of impact of livelihood is avoidable. The people looked unaware of moving to

higher ground after an earthquake even when there was no tsunami warning. Therefore, certain
policy measures need to be taken for better preparedness and disaster response.
It is validated that partnership with local and federal government shall minimize the
impact of disasters like tsunami. Integration of disaster management policy into environmental
protection policies and socio-economic development policies shall help in livelihood
preservation.

References
AFP.com, 2018. Scientists zero in on cause of unusual Indonesian disaster. [online] AFP.com.
Available at: <https://www.afp.com/en/news/23/scientists-zero-cause-unusual-indonesian-
disaster-doc-19r51g1> [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Beech, H., Suhartono, M. and Paddock, R., 2018. Indonesia Tsunami and Quake Devastate an
Island, Killing Hundreds. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/world/asia/indonesia-tsunami-sulawesi-palu.html>
[Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Cnbc.com, 2018. Indonesian survivors desperate to flee disaster zone as death toll climbs to 844.
[online] CNBC. Available at: <https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/29/indonesia-tsunami-death-toll-
jumps-after-quake-flood-waters.html> [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
De Albuquerque, J.P., Herfort, B., Brenning, A. and Zipf, A., 2015. A geographic approach for
combining social media and authoritative data towards identifying useful information for disaster
management. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 29(4), pp.667-689.
Dewi, S., 2018. We live with but are unprepared for natural disasters. [online] The Jakarta Post.
Available at: <http://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2018/10/04/we-live-with-but-are-
unprepared-for-natural-disasters.html> [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Granville, F., Mehta, A. and Pike, S., 2016. Destinations, disasters and public relations:
Stakeholder engagement in multi-phase disaster management. Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Management, 28, pp.73-79.

Indonesia-tourism.com, 2018. West Sulawesi - new province established in October 5, 2004.
[online] Indonesia-tourism.com. Available at: <https://www.indonesia-tourism.com/west-
sulawesi/> [Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Kalkman, J.P. and de Waard, E.J., 2017. Inter-organizational disaster management projects:
Finding the middle way between trust and control. International journal of project
management, 35(5), pp.889-899.
Oloruntoba, R., Sridharan, R. and Davison, G., 2018. A proposed framework of key activities
and processes in the preparedness and recovery phases of disaster management. Disasters, 42(3),
pp.541-570.
Paddock, R. and Suhartono, M., 2018. Tsunami and Earthquake in Indonesia Kill Nearly 400,
Officials Say. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at:
<https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/28/world/asia/tsunami-palu-indonesia-earthquake.html>
[Accessed 7 Oct. 2018].
Paton, D. and Johnston, D., 2017. Disaster resilience: an integrated approach. Charles C
Thomas Publisher.
Reliefweb.int, 2015. Disaster Management Reference Handbook. [ebook] Indonesia. Available
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