Tourism has a reciprocal relationship with natural disasters. The study aims to investigate the role of tourism as a strategy in the disaster phases based on (2001. Towards a framework for tourism disaster management. Tourism Management, 22, 135–147) and Ritchie (2004. Chaos, crises and disasters: A strategic approach to crisis management in the tourism industry. Tourism Management, 25, 669–683)’s disaster management frameworks in the case of the earthquake occurred in Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan in April 2016. The analysis was based on interviews with twelve informants and stakeholders in tourism development collected in Kumamoto in summer 2018. The results suggest that the tourism industry contributes differently across the phases of a disaster but is mainly significant in terms of information provisions, communications and emergency accommodations for tourists. More fundamental changes may be observed in the long-term recovery and resolution phases, whereby tourism is most important in information collection, experience learning in disaster, institutional reform and strategy of sustainable tourism development and poster-disaster destination marketing. The study further advances the existing disaster management framework through the enrichment of knowledge from tourism stakeholder perspective. Empirically, the research findings inform tourism development and sustainability strategy of Kumamoto area after a rarely occurred earthquake disaster. Highlights

The 2018 Eastern Iburi Hokkaido earthquake in Japan caused infrastructural damage and tourism disruption within a natural-hazard-prone country. This research advances the theoretical foundation and development of natural disaster management through a series of in-depth interviews with the local tourism stakeholders on the investigation of how the role of tourism across the pre-to-post earthquake period is considered by the stakeholders. These local tourism stakeholders have performed or expected a range of actions related to the disaster-management process and contributed to destination resilience. The qualitative analysis discovers, firstly, the multi-functionality of tourism resources, spaces, and industries for disaster preparation; secondly, the evacuation and emergency arrangements during the prodromal and emergency phases; and moreover, more possibilities of restoring the affected destination to a state of long-term (re)development during the post-disaster phases. Information and communication barriers are the major difficulties to be tackled for disaster preparedness. Product creation, image improvement, local knowledge enrichment, and, more importantly, people-to-people and people-to-place connections all contribute to the result of sustainable tourism development. From the destination resilience perspective, collaboration is the key determinant of an improved Hokkaido region. This factor could integrate stakeholders through shared local values, experiences, and memories of disaster risk communication and strategies for preparedness.