Categories: Global Health | Sustainability | Tourism | Tragedy Large scale disasters have the potential to hurt more than just the immediate area impacted. This extends to the environment, wildlife, and the tourism industry. There are many areas that have been deemed high risk due to their location and climate that may be known for volcanoes, tsunamis, or hurricanes. When areas that largely depend on the hospitality industry for their livelihoods are destroyed, tourism is often the only way to get them back on their feet. Recently impacted areas often have difficult times convincing tourists to visit after these kinds of disasters. Natural and man-made disasters have catastrophic impacts on the lives of those in the impact zone. This disrupts their social and economic activities as these regions are challenged with clean up, medical assistance, and loss. The tourism industry significantly declines after disasters such as an oil spill. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, the hospitality industry was immediately affected. In Louisiana, leisure visitors spent much less following the oil spill; Visitor spending was projected to lose $422 million from 2010 through 2013; Hotels in Gulf Coast states had difficulty in booking future events; There was a marked decline in Gulf Coast tourism interest following the oil spill; Tripadvisor.com reports that in the 20 day period after the spill, consumers searched 52% less for Pensacola, Fl., 65% less for Gulf Shores, Al., and 48% less for Destin, Fl. Natural disasters and other unexpected events lead to destruction of the tourism supply, and lowered perception of safety as media coverage paints the area poorly. Focusing solely on the environment through these disasters, areas like the forests can experience structural changes to their ecosystem after events such as floods, wildfires, and tornadoes. Both wildlife and their habitats are killed during or because of their shelters being leveled and food availability becoming scarce. Natural Disasters vs. Man Made DisastersNatural Disasters: A natural disaster is a major adverse event resulting from natural processes of the Earth; examples include firestorms, dust storms, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, and other geologic processes. Some of the more notable natural disasters in history are: Man Made Disasters: Anthropogenic hazards are hazards caused by human action or inaction. They are contrasted with natural hazards. Anthropogenic hazards may adversely affect humans, other organisms, biomes, and ecosystems. The frequency and severity of hazards are key elements in some risk analysis methodologies. Some of the more notable man made disasters in history are: When oil rigs or machinery malfunction or break, thousands of tons of oil can seep into the environment. Oil spill effects on environments and habitats can be catastrophic: they can kill plants and animals, disturb chemical levels, pollute the air and water and more. These spills are especially harmful to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and other marine life as they are coated and unable to repel water or regulate their body temperatures properly. Because of this, a main consequence is fatal hypothermia. Other animals may become trapped or mistake it for food such as young sea turtles. Marine life that is not immediately exposed may suffer later as the oil is mixed into the water and can affect fish, shellfish, and corals. Birth defects arise from exposure to the oils and can lead to reduced growth, enlarged livers, changes in heart and respiration rates, fin erosion, and reproduction impairment. Even if these defects are not lethal, they are unsafe to be consumed by humans. How These Disasters Are Still Hurting Us
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Sources Used:Chisholm, Kenneth. Deepwater Horizon, IMDB, 2016, www.imdb.com/title/tt1860357/plotsummary
Heron, S.F. How Does an Oil Spill Affect The Environment?, Sciencing, 22 Nov. 2019, sciencing.com/oil-spill-affect-environment-4616883.html. National Ocean Service. How does oil impact marine life?, NOAA, 2021, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oilimpacts.html#:~:text=Oil%20spills%20are%20harmful%20to,well%20as%20fish%20and%20shellfish.&text=Without%20the%20ability%20to%20repel,and%20mistake%20it%20for%20f. Oceana. Oil Spills and Tourism: They Don’t Mix, Oceana, 16 Aug. 2010, usa.oceana.org/sites/default/files/tourism_impacts_fact_sheet_9-8-15.pdf. Ocean Conservatory. Exxon Valdez: 29 Years Later, Ocean Conservatory, 22 Mar. 2018, oceanconservancy.org/blog/2018/03/22/exxon-valdez-29-years-later/. Rosselló, Jaume, et al. The effects of natural disasters on international tourism: A global analysis, NCBI, 1 Feb. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7115519/. SWCA Environmental Consultants. After the Storm: The Environmental Impacts of Natural Disasters, SWCA, 2021, www.swca.com/news/2017/11/after-the-storm-the-environmental-impacts-of-natural-disasters#:~:text=Other%20disasters%20such%20as%20wildfires,in%20habitat%20and%20food%20availability.
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Sydney BrzezinskiSenior undergraduate student at Grand Valley State University studying Business Management, Hospitality & Tourism, and Meeting & Events Management. Through my enrollment in HTM 202 International Tourism, I have maintained this blog as a portion of my required class work from September to December 2021. - Sydney Brzezinski
Oxford & Allendale, MI |