The resilience of formal and informal tourism enterprises to disasters – reef tourism in Phuket, Thailand (original) (raw)

Abstract

This paper explores the resilience of vulnerable tourism sectors to disasters in a period of global change and interdependence. It explains why the coral reef tourism industry is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and economic and political shocks. It also explains why enterprise resilience is central to sustainable tourism management, for economic, socio-cultural, and environmental reasons. It extends the concepts of ecological and social resilience to that of enterprise resilience. Using interviews with key enterprise staff the study contrasts the factors associated with the resilience of formal and informal reef tourism enterprises in Phuket, Thailand, following the 2004 tsunami and 2008 political crisis. Informal enterprises reported better financial condition in a shock scenario, and higher levels of social capital in the form of government, family and community support than formal enterprises. Formal and informal enterprises both enjoy high lifestyle benefits from reef tourism, which supports resilience. Most formal enterprises had part foreign ownership/management (61%); no informal enterprise had any foreign ownership or management. Informal enterprises appear more resilient. Management policies supporting reef tourism should consider local nuances, the importance of lifestyle benefits for both formal and informal enterprises and take steps to enable enterprise flexibility and cost-cutting during crises. Keywords: resilience, coral reefs, tourism, informal sector, enterprises, tsunami, crises, recession, political crisis

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