GIDRM, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Philippines’ Department of Tourism (DoT) recently organized the Hotel Resilient Kick-off Workshop in Cebu City.

The Hotel Resilient Initiative was launched in 2013 to improve disaster risk management and strengthen resilience in the tourism sector. GIDRM has partnered with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and its consortium members to develop a Multi-hazard Risk Management Standard Module for hotels and resorts.
At the kick-off Workshop the development process and draft framework of the Multi-hazard Risk Management Standard Module were introduced and discussed with governmental authorities and business leaders. It was also the first time for the Hotel Resilient Expert Group to come together. Its members represent the private and public sector and have long experience in tourism particularly with respect to looking at the links to disaster risk management.

Expert Group member Ms. Rica Bueno, the Director of the Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations at the Department of Tourism in the Philippines, emphasised the timeliness of the Hotel Resilient Initiative and its relevance particularly for the Philippines. Deputy Minister Fathimath Thasneem of the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) in Maldives, who has also joined the Expert Group, called for “bold ideas” and “robust action” at the workshop in order to protect private and public investments in the tourism industry. Mr. Handloegten, Head of the Management Unit of GIDRM, emphasised the importance of involving the private sector and offering marketable solutions on disaster risk management.

Following the workshop, a team of representatives of GIDRM and the KIT visited the Philippines to conduct further interviews and collect data in Bohol, Cebu, and Manila. The team is cooperating closely with the “Promotion of Green Economic Development (ProGED)” project, which aims to promote climate change mitigation of businesses in the selected destinations.

The Multi-hazard Risk Management Standard Module will be further reviewed during the pilot phase in up to three different destinations in the Asia Pacific region later this year.