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Disaster Management: Kelowna Tourism Industry's Preparedness, Impact and Response to a 2003 Major Forest Fire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2012

Perry Hystad  and
Peter Keller
Perry Hystad*
Affiliation:
University of Victoria, Canada. phystad@uvic.ca
Peter Keller*
Affiliation:
University of Victoria, Canada. pkeller@uvic.ca
*
1Perry Hystad, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 3P5.
2Peter Keller, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 3P5.
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Abstract

This article summarises a case study investigating the relationship between a disastrous forest fire and the local tourism industry. During the summer of 2003, the region of Kelowna in British Columbia experienced an unusually severe forest fire that required evacuation of over 26,000 people, destroyed 238 private homes, caused a major disruption of the region's main tourism season, and destroyed several major tourism attractions. A case study was undertaken to examine how prepared Kelowna's tourism industry was for such a disaster, how the tourism industry responded to the disaster, what impact the disaster had on the different sectors of the tourism industry, and what lessons were learned. A survey of 104 local tourism businesses was conducted, as well as a review of government and organisational reports and the analysis of 175 media articles covering the fire. This article highlights some of the findings.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management , Volume 13 , Issue 1 , 01 April 2006 , pp. 44 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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