Disaster Risk Management for Coastal Tourism - Caribbean Hotel ...

Disaster Risk Management For Coastal Tourism Destinations Responding To Climate Change
A Practical Guide For Decision Makers
5.2.2
Organizing the Plan Writing Team
In most circumstances, the agency with the lead responsibility for drafting the
disaster preparedness plan for the coastal tourism destination would either be the
local emergency response agency or the local representative of the ministry or
department of tourism. The team assembled to write the plan should be kept small
and include public and private sector expertise from the Coordinating Group. There
should be a division of writing responsibilities based on the available expertise.
However, a single editor should be appointed to oversee the writing exercise and
If resources permit, outside expert consultants could be retained to prepare the plan.
However, this approach requires careful attention to ensure that local knowledge and
experience is incorporated into the plan. A schedule for preparing and approving the
plan should also be developed. Writing the plan could last several weeks or months,
established and enforced. This is necessary to maintain interest and engagement in
the exercise by the writing team and the wider Coordinating Group.
5.2.3
Engaging Stakeholders and the General Public
With the completed capability assessment and guided by the shared goals and
objectives established by the Coordinating Group, the plan writing team should
develop and publicize the terms of reference which include the main elements of
the Preparedness Plan, to address the disaster mitigation objectives of the tourism
consideration.
There are several stages in the plan development process where stakeholder and
general public involvement is crucial for an acceptable plan document:
Once the plan’s terms of reference have been developed, these should be
presented to the larger Coordinating Group, where a range of stakeholders
has the opportunity to question, modify and ratify the scope; and,
A public informational meeting is recommended early in the plan writing
stage to inform the general public of the importance of this initiative, the
terms of reference and to solicit their input and gain their support.
When a draft of the plan has been completed, it should again be made
readily available to the general public for comment through the approved
consultative forums. A record of the proceedings should be maintained for
validating any future revisions.
5.2.4
Plan Approval
The plan writing team should address the public’s comments and prepare a draft
disaster preparedness plan is necessary for:
66 | Developing The Disaster Preparedness Plan