Author(s)

L. David

Abstract

This paper draws attention to the fact that natural disasters can be very damaging for the tourism industry. The study provides a detailed overview on the possibilities of the mitigations of natural hazards and disasters. Firstly, the River Tisza in Hungary is a very important tourism destination, but, after decades of unusually dry weather periods, the area experienced heavy rainfalls between the years of 1988 and 2002, causing floods of considerable magnitude in the Carpathian Basin and several dangerous flood waves passing down the River. The defence against the raging rivers put an enormous burden on the national budget and yet could not provide satisfactory lines of defence in the end. Therefore, there was an urgent need to solve the problem. This project is the largest and greatest regional development plan ever conceived and implemented in the Carpathian Basin. The rural and regional development opportunities are considerable and the economic and infrastructural improvements will be a challenge for the Hungarian institutions and authorities. Secondly, more and more natural disasters appeared in the Carpathian Basin caused by storms and tempests. Very important tourism destinations, High Tatras in Slovakia, Hungarian and Rumanian mountains, were destroyed by huge natural disasters. To preserve the harmony and balance between the tourism industry and nature, and to defend against disasters, the best strategies can be found based on sustainable tourism and destination planning. The author proposes recommendations to help identify the correct solutions. Keywords: tourism, natural hazards, disasters, Carpathian Basin.

Keywords

tourism, natural hazards, disasters, Carpathian Basin