Tourism Crisis Management for Inbound Tourists: Information Collection and Evacuation Behavior

2023 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K12396
• Research Institution: Tokyo Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: CHOI SUNKYUNG 東京工業大学, 環境・社会理工学院, 特任講師 (40814116)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ヘンリー マイケル・ワード 芝浦工業大学, 工学部, 教授 (80586371) ; 花岡 伸也 東京工業大学, 環境・社会理工学院, 教授 (90467027) ; MAHARJAN RAJALI 一般財団法人運輸総合研究所(学術研究チーム), その他部局等, 研究員 (00905309)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Tourist evacuation / Tsunami evacuation / Inbound tourist / Information provision / Evacuation planning / Tourism crisis

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

This study developed an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to analyze the impact of information provision and shelter planning on tsunami evacuation behavior among foreign tourists. Osaka City's Minato Ward was used as a case study, a popular destination for foreign visitors. A field survey was conducted to understand the current status of multilingual support and shelter planning. The impact of tsunami prevention measures such as the visibility of evacuation guidance signs, multilingual support, communication availability, and increased shelter capacity on each group's evacuation rates and times was analyzed. The simulation model and scenario analysis results confirmed differences in the arrival times at shelters between foreign tourists and residents. The arrival time of foreign tourists could be reduced by providing accessible signs and multilingual support. To support the evacuation of foreign tourists, a comprehensive plan that includes increasing shelter capacity and providing multilingual information is necessary. Furthermore, the study attempted to expand the developed ABM model, gather information, and conduct an extensive literature review on tourism crisis management in Japan and other overseas countries.

Research Products

• [Presentation] Clarifying Intended Information Seeking and Evacuation Behavior of International Tourists to Japan (2023)
  • Author(s): Choi, S., Runze, H., Maharjan, R., Henry, M., Hanaoka, S.
  • Organizer: Eastern Society for Transportation Studies 2023 EASTS International Conference,
  • Int'l Joint Research