Caroline Orchiston
PhD Candidate
email: corchiston@business.otago.ac.nz
Skype: carolineorchiston
PhD Title
Tourism and Earthquakes: Risk, Readiness and Resilience in Tourism Industry.
Supervisors
Professor James Higham and Professor Richard Sibson (Geology Department)
Research Abstract
The Alpine Fault runs along the Southern Alps of the South Island, and marks the plate boundary along which the Pacific Plate is being forced against the Australian Plate in the west. Movement along the plate boundary results in periodic earthquake activity, and paleoseismic studies suggest that the Alpine fault produces earthquakes within M 7.8-8 magnitude range every 100-300 years.
Coincident with this zone of high seismic risk is a burgeoning tourism industry. Queenstown, Mt Cook, the West Coast and Milford Sound are situated within tens of kilometres of the Alpine Fault zone, and are highly vulnerable to extensive long-term disruption in the event of a major Alpine fault earthquake. An earthquake of this size would result in a number of severe physical impacts, including landslides, rupture lengths of several hundred kilometres, and associated effects. To date, no research has applied the real science of earthquakes to gain insights into the vulnerability and resilience of an industry which is now the financial cornerstone of the alpine region of the South Island. A quantitative methodology has been used to survey all tourism operators in the field area to investigate their perceptions of seismic risk, and the resilience of their tourism operation to severe disruption from an Alpine fault event. In addition, GIS is being used to create a map of the inter-relationships between the tourism industry and the seismic “footprint” of a potential Alpine fault event in the region. The project is due to be completed by November 2009.
Education
BSc(Hons) in Geology, University of Otago (1993-1996). The structure and mineralogy of the Alpine fault, Mahitahi, South Westland, New Zealand.
Masters in Tourism, University of Otago (2002-2004). Marine Tourism in New Zealand: operator profile and environmental management.
Publications
Orchiston, C. 2009 (in press). Natural hazard monitoring in New Zealand: implications for tourist safety. Pacific News, vol. 31.
Orchiston, C. 2006. Profiling changes in the supply side of marine tourism in New Zealand: a spatiotemporal analysis. Tourism in Marine Environments, vol. 2, p: 79-88.
Scholarships and Awards
- University of Otago Postgraduate Award (for Masters research), 2002.
- University of Otago Postgraduate Scholarship (for Doctoral research), 2005.
- I must extend my sincere gratitude to the Earthquake Commission for providing generous financial support for this project, November 2007-9.
Teaching Experience
I have completed a series of six lectures for 400-level Ecotourism in 2003 and 2004, and a number of guest lectures for Tourism Impacts, Marine Tourism and Tourism Planning in the Caribbean.
Hobbies
Squash, and some squash coaching.
Gardening, especially growing vegetables.
Cycling