Spatiotemporal Spillover Effects of Extreme Disasters on Regional Tourism Demand

As the climate crisis intensifies, disasters are becoming more severe. While prior research has focused on their direct impacts on tourism demand in affected areas, disasters also generate spatial spillover effects that influence neighborhood areas, with impacts that evolve differently over time. This study examines the direct and spillover effects of large-scale disasters on tourism demand and analyzes how these effects change over time, drawing implications for regional tourism policy. We focus on the unprecedented March 2025 wildfire in the Uiseong-Andong region of the Republic of Korea, the most severe wildfire in the country’s history in terms of burned area. The results reveal clear differences in direct and spillover effects between domestic and international tourists, along with pronounced temporal dynamics, particularly in response to post-disaster policies targeting international visitors. These findings provide an empirical foundation for tourism disaster management research and support the development of localized policy responses.