Vulnerability of Tourism Industry to Disasters: (A Case Study of July 2010 Flood in SWAT, Pakistan)

Tourism is a backbone of the economy for the areas whose serene beauty attracts people all around. Swat is one of those places where people love to come, nevertheless in recent past some factors have severely affected tourism, like, terrorism, army operation and floods. The current study is focused to find out the effects of July 2010, floods on tourism in general and on business in particular in Swat. The data was collected from 233 randomly selected respondents of the most affected areas of district Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) of Pakistan. Findings of the study indicated that number of tourists decreased significantly after the floods as flash floods awfully demolished roads in the area, which not only created obstacles in the relief activities in emergency time but also said good bye to tourists. Most of the Natural and man-made tourist spots had lost their beauty and attraction. Hostels and restaurants in the area were destroyed by flood water, which severely affected the business of the natives in the area. It was suggested that the government should give special attention to promote tourism industry by enhancing the natural beauty of the surroundings and provide facilities to the tourists. Tourist spots that are at risk from flood water should be safeguarded, and access to these spots should be made easy through good and comfortable roads.