Page 7 - Destination Risk and Resilience Manual-Namibia

DESTINATION RISK AND RESILIENCE MANUAL

1.1 Background & Objectives

Tourism has the potential to boost the revenue of the better understand and implement tourism destination
economy, create employment in the tourism industry resilience within the Namibian context.
and in other different industries, develop the infra-
structure of a country, and foster a sense of cultural ex- This manual aims to:
change between tourists/visitors and the host country.
As a consequence of being able to affect various sectors c Describe the Namibian tourism system, its govern-
and industries of Namibia, tourism is said to be “every- ance, the key tourism industry stakeholders and the
one’s business”. Unfortunately, tourism destinations in destination’s tourism inventory
every corner of the globe face the virtual certainty of c Raise awareness of the perceived risks, their impact
experiencing a disaster of one form or another at some on tourism, the risk drivers and the potential op-
point in their history (Faulkner; 1945-2002). Hence, tions for action to address these risks
tourism resilience has emerged as a key concept that c Establish the enablers and barriers to building desti-
can foster a sustainable tourism destination. This man- nation resilience
ual has therefore been developed collaboratively, with c Identify viable and acknowledged pathways for des-
the tourism public sector, private sector, academics tination resilience
and NGOs for use in addressing tourism destination c Recommend areas for specific training to enhance
resilience. The manual may also be of interest to any or build capacity
other entities, private or public, who would like to

1.2 Conceptual understanding of resilience

Tourism in Namibia plays a significant role in the na- as a valuable concept to deal with risks and uncer-
tional economy and has been a major contributor to tainty and can help tourism stakeholders and tourism
the sustainability of tourism employees and commu- destinations to absorb disruptions, increase adaptabil-
nity livelihoods. In fact, in 2020, the tourism industry’s ity and transformation towards sustainable tourism
contribution to the total employment in Namibia was development (see Figure 1).
expected to reach 16.4% (the Republic of Namibia,
2017). However, the economic impact of COVID-19 Shocks and stressors include different hazards such
and subsequent travel restrictions were catastrophic as natural, human-made or hybrid in origin. Hazards
to Namibia. The tourism sector was the hardest hit by are defined as sources that have the potential to cause
the pandemic. The tourism industry is known to be harm, accidents, or adverse impacts (Muhammad and
vulnerable to disaster and climate risks. Therefore, in Hastuti, 2019). The United Nations General Assembly
order to recover quickly and enhance preparedness for (UNGA) (2016:18) sees a hazard as a ‘process, phenome-
future disasters, hazards and/or risks Namibia needs to non or human activity that may cause loss of life, in-
build destination resilience. jury, or other health impacts, property damage, social
and economic disruption or environmental degrada-
What is destination resilience? Destination resilience tion.’ Hazards are, therefore, by nature, very damaging
is the overall ability of people in a tourism destination to the tourism industry. As Aznar-Crespo et al., (2020)
(e.g., service providers, institutions, organisations) to point out, the stakeholders that are most negatively
deal with different risks while maintaining an accept- impacted by hazards are the tourists, tourism busi-
able level of functioning of the tourism system with- nesses and the local population. Risk generally results
out compromising long-term prospects for sustainable from the interaction of vulnerability, exposure, and a
development. Dealing with existing and emerging hazard. In the context of tourism, a risk is the potential
risks involves the ability to assess, plan and act in order for adverse impacts and consequences for something
to prepare for, prevent, adapt and respond to differ- of value in the tourism system, i.e., tourism actors,
ent sources of risks (DKKV 2022, based on UN, 2020; tourists and visitors, assets, properties, infrastructure,
UN-Habitat, 2018). Destination resilience has evolved and natural or cultural attractions.

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