Office of Disaster Tourism

The Illuminatia Office of Disaster Tourism (ODT) is a government office operating within the Illuminatia Department of Calamity and Catastrophe (DCC). The ODT manages operational, safety, and permissions aspects related to tourism, sightseeing, and exploration in the vicinity of areas experiencing or recovering from natural and human-originated disasters of various sorts.

Early in the history of the Department of Calamity and Catastrophe, government officials realized that even the best efforts to exclude the sightseeing public from disaster scenes were never entirely successful and that failing to account for the natural human impulse to encounter the danger and wonder of disastrous scenarios could become harmful to public health and safety. The DCC determined the most effective strategy to counteract the potential hazards of ad hoc disaster tourism would be to allow for it under controlled conditions. As a result, the DCC established the Office of Disaster Tourism.

The ODT makes disaster tourism safer while also augmenting local disaster recovery efforts by facilitating an influx of tourism spending in the vicinity of disaster-affected areas. Through thoughtful regulation, the ODT is able to allow for a controlled inflow of curious onlookers while keeping in mind the safety of tourists and disaster victims alike in addition to the security of disaster-affected property and recovery-related assets.

The Office of Disaster Tourism regulates admission of outside visitors to disaster zones through a permitting scheme. The ODT also registers disaster tourism agencies and tour operators to promote coordination and cooperation. The office collects taxes and fees from tourists and tour operators and distributes the proceeds to public agencies that benefit residents of disaster zones, including non-profit charities, local governmental entities, and continental sister agencies operating under the DCC such as the Office of Unmitigated Catastrophes (OUC), the Office of Anthropogenic Hazards (OAH), and the Office of Natural Disasters (OND). The ODT also coordinates the establishment of public facilities for use by disaster tourists to ensure the incoming travelers do not cause a strain on existing resources reserved for non-tourists.