Leadership in the phase of disaster recovery – evidence from Japan

Effective leadership practice is the crucial link to successful recovery from crisis and disaster. However, as research in the areas of leadership, tourism as well as urban planning shows, there is still a gap in research outputs; in particular when incorporating contextual factors, such as cultural perceptions on leadership and leading. This research provides evidence of effective leadership practice after the high impact disaster of the Japanese Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster from 2011. The findings group six themes of perceptions of effective leadership characteristics. Data has been collected in August 2012, approx. 1.5 years after the disaster in the Miyagi prefecture. Participants included tourism operators, volunteers, and other enablers, aiming to stabilize the area. The region's current goal is to regain 'normality' and moreover, implement future tourism infrastructure and activities, in order to attract tourists to the destination in the longterm. The aim of this work in progress is to outline an explanatory leadership model for disaster recovery with a focus on revitalising tourism