2023 Volume 21 Issue 2 Pages 193-203
In coastal regions of Japan, there are many tourist areas as well as residential areas. Following the Nankai Trough Earthquake, severe human casualties could occur in the coastal tourist areas. The emergency response systems must be prepared for these potential according to the areal conditions and earthquake and tsunami risks. In the aftermath of massive earthquake, tourism workers play a vital role in tourism coastal areas during the emergency situation. Therefore, the emergency response system must consider their roles, responsibilities, and norms for assisting tourists after the earthquake. This study explores tourism workers’ perceptions for assisting tourists’ tsunami evacuations after the Nankai Trough Earthquake. The relationship between the perceptions are also illustrated in the analysis. The research site is Shirarahama area in Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan which is a famous tourist and tsunami-prone area. The target was tourism workers working in the estimated tsunami inundation area. The questionnaires were distributed through Shirahama Town Office, Shirahama Tourism Association, Shirahama Hot Spring and Ryokan Group, and Shirahama Society of Commerce and Industry to their affiliated organizations, and returned by postal mail between October 23, 2019 and November 22, 2019. The number of distributed questionnaires was 346, and the number of valid responses was 196 (56.6%). Results indicated that subjective norm and perceived control for supporting tourists are major determinants of intention to the behavior and that the construct of people’s confusion after the earthquake largely decrease perceived control.
