Disaster Recovery: Lessons from Japan and Elsewhere

Moderator: Masato Takamatsu (Japan Tourism Promotion Organization CEO)

Speakers: Norifumi Idee (Japan Tourism Agency Commissioner, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Masaki Ogsts (East Japan Railway Company vice chairman), Bert van Walbeek (PATA Rapid Recovery Taskforce chairman), Dirk Glaesser (UNWTO Risk and Crisis Management coordinator), Raymond N Bickson (Indian Hotels Company CEO), Robert Lauraence Noddin (AIU INsurance Company CEO), and Noriko Abe (Minami-Sanriku Hotel Kanyo).

Norifumi Idee: We deeply appreciate for warm greetings from 254 countries, regions, and also support offers from 164 countries and 43 international organization. The levels of airborne radatioan are well within safe levels, and in fact lower than many other cities. I feel particularly bad for Korea because it's radiation levels are much higher than Japanese cities. I'd like to assure all of you that most of the area in the Fukushima prefecture except for within the plant are safe for business. In securing food safety, the Japanese government checked rigorously food and drink supply. We have established provisional regulation values for radioactive substances contained in foods and took measures, including restriction on the shipment of foods that exceeded applicable regulation values. More strict standards on April 1,2012 to secure higher food safety from a long-term viewpoint.

Masaki Ogsts: In the railway history, we have learned many lesson from past accidents and incidents.

Bert van Walbeek: Educate and train all stakeholders, accept joint responsibility,respect and understand "Mother Nature," cooperate on travel advisories, and united recovery communication.

Dirk Glaesser: Crisis occur, how you prepare and manage them determines the impact; constantly increasing value of Crisis Management - Volcano Ash Cloud; and sustainable and resilient tourism development. On planning and preparing, the importance of correct assumptions, contingency planning - from SARS to Pandemic 2009 (H1N1), and flexibility of Murphy's Law.

Raymond N Bickson: The crisis management tools we are the same across the board. We have to make sure those involved [in the crisis] are brought to safety. Organizations, public and private, working together is essential in bringing business to bounce back. Normalcy comes in to play by us working together. Use of Facebook and other social media is also important in addressing crises.

Robert Lauraence Noddin: We als share one common, we may have a business to run; but at the end of the day, we are focusing on customers. We have to build the right culture to respond to these processes.

Noriko Abe: We took initiative to help the community rebuild. We became a temporary shelter and we provided entertainment for local people, so that they can forget about their problems. We also provided a schooling facility because of parents who were concerned with their children.

Anita Mendiratta: Identify the nature crisis, accuracy of information, partnership with the media, follow through, and every single person needs media training.