Disaster Recovery after the Heavy Rains in Northern Kyushu and Landing-type Tourism -A Case of Hoshino Village, Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture-

In the present century, a new form of tourism, which is a landing-type tourism (optional tour) in contrast with a departing-type tourism, has been attracting attention. The landing-type tourism is that local communities take the initiative in using local resources as tourist resources, which is also regarded as one of the effective approaches for disaster recovery. In July 2012, the area of the Hoshino Village, Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, sustained significant damage caused by the heavy rains in Northern Kyushu. Accordingly, the author conducted a questionnaire survey targeting the residents of the Hoshino Village, who experienced the heavy rains, with an aim to understand how they see the current issues of their local communities and how they think about the possibilities of realizing the landing-type tourism. Based on the acknowledgement, the author advances discussions with the goal of determining the ways of tourism in the village in the future. Findings from the questionnaires reveal that the residents of the village are concerned about the village's future as a tourism destination, after suffering from the disaster. In addition, as for the changes in the consciousness of residents, there is also a positive impact, as they rediscover the resources for tourism. From these findings, it is believed that the landing-type tourism will allow the residents of the Hoshino Village to rediscover their local areas and as a result, it revitalizes local communities, leading to achieve the disaster recovery