30 July 2015
UNISDR to Develop Disaster Risk Management Standards for Hotels in Asia and Pacific
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The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has announced a plan to develop and pilot disaster risk management standards for the hotel industry in Asia and the Pacific, where 80% of the world's disaster events take place.

UNISDRS29 July 2015: The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has announced a plan to develop and pilot disaster risk management standards for the hotel industry in Asia and the Pacific, where 80% of the world’s disaster events take place.

A joint study conducted for the Hotel Resilient Initiative by UNISDR, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and the Global Initiative on Disaster Risk Management (GIDRM), which is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, has identified significant interest in setting such standards among hoteliers, tour operators, tourism bodies, government agencies and insurance companies in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Maldives.

Highlighting the vulnerability of the hotel industry in hazard-prone areas to floods, storms and earthquakes, Margareta Wahlström, Head of UNISDR, emphasized the role of the hotel industry in encouraging disaster risk management at the local level. “One incentive is that insurance companies could envisage premium reductions for hotels that demonstrate that they are investing in disaster resilience in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction,” she stated.

Emphasizing the increasing importance of having standardized procedures in place, Mario Hardy, CEO of PATA, stressed that these standards “could even become a competitive advantage for hotels in the future if they were internationally recognized.”

In related news, UNISDR has launched a search for communities that demonstrate excellence in managing disaster risk under the campaign slogan, ‘Knowledge for Life,’ seeking nominations from governments, local governments and civil society organizations for communities that should be declared Champions of Disaster Risk Reduction. [UNISDR Press Release on Disaster Resilience Plans] [UNISDR Press Release on Knowledge for Life Initiative] [UN Press Release]

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