When disaster strikes a smart tourism city: tourists narratives of Dubai's recent flooding

This study addresses a significant gap in tourism disaster management by analyzing the firsthand experience of international tourists during the unprecedented recent flooding in Dubai, a smart tourism city. The study uses narrative inquiry to capture tourists' personal accounts, perceptions of the disaster's impact, and observations of local response efforts. The goal is to assess the resilience of smart tourism cities and the effectiveness of their disaster management strategies. Employing semi-structured interviews, the research collected detailed narratives from 26 tourists impacted by the flooding, offering an in-depth understanding of their experiences and the operational responses from disaster management teams. The findings reveal substantial disruptions in travel and communication, highlighting deficiencies in the current infrastructure and disaster management systems for handling large-scale emergencies. Tourists' narratives indicate a blend of preparedness and oversight, with some infrastructure elements functioning well while others, especially in safety and timely communication, fell short. This study emphasizes the necessity for comprehensive disaster management resilience strategies that enhance infrastructure robustness, improve communication systems, and actively involve all stakeholders to boost the resilience and safety of smart tourism cities.