Climate and disaster risk assessment for sustainable coastal tourism: a study of puri in odisha

Abstract

Background: Coastal tourism contributes to regional development, but due to climatic changes and frequent occurrences of hydro- meteorological risks, coastal tourism is becoming a matter of concern in sustenance. On the Bay of Bengal coast of India, tourists are becoming increasingly exposed to the effects of cyclones, storm surges, excessive rainfall, floods, erosion, and sea level rise. Puri (Odisha) is a case that is critical because of a significant tourist inflow and concentrated coastal development in the area of hazardous activity. Objective: To conduct an integrated climate and disaster risk assessment for sustainable coastal tourism in Puri by profiling hazards, tourism exposure, ecological buffering, preparedness using an evidence-based framework. Methods: The secondary-data method of a quantitative design was used with the official datasets (XLS). It was tested using the Hazard-Exposure-Vulnerability-Risk (HEVR) framework, which analyzed the long-term monitoring of temperature changes (1901-2021), indicators of disaster losses (cyclones, heavy rainfall, floods), tourism pressure tendencies, ecological resilience (forest/tree cover), and preparedness proxies (cyclone shelters). The check was done by descriptive and comparative trend analysis. Results: Odisha has also exhibited continuous warming, with the mean annual temperature increasing between 25.03 °C (1910s) and 25.86 °C (2010s-2020s), with the highest of annual maximum temperatures concentrated since 2009. Records on disasters reveal that there are high-impact years periodically with sharp increases in the loss of housing, livestock, and crops, which represent long-term vulnerability to cyclones and floods. Puri has minimal ecological protection (forest cover 5.95% of geographical area), that is more susceptible to storm surge, inundation, and erosion. Even though Odisha cyclone shelter cover is relatively high, the vulnerability of tourism is high because of the localized coastal development and planning loopholes. Conclusion: Risk-informed coastal tourism planning is essential for Puri, prioritising hazard zoning, ecosystem restoration, climate-resilient infrastructure, and strengthened governance to ensure long-term sustainability.