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Option B — Oceans and coastal margins

El Nino

• El Nino, la Nina, and the neutral phase are parts of el Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
• El Nino is associated with higher air sea level pressure in the West, while La Nina is associated with higher air sea level pressure in the East
• They both last about a year and happen every 2-7 years, but every event is different and has different intensities and ramifications
• The thermocline divides hot surface water from cool below-surface water in the ocean; energy from solar radiation only reaches to a certain point
• Upwelling from the Americas maintains the Eastern thermocline at a relatively shallow level, about 50 meters from the surface, during the neutral phase
• During el Nino events, the West often experiences droughts and dry seasons
• During la Nina events, warm oceanic water is pushed further to the West, leading to greater incidence of flooding and storms in countries like Indonesia
• Rossby and Kelvin waves are, in part, responsible for the wind conditions that concentrate warm water in the West
• Falling trade winds in the Pacific Ocean often trigger el Nino events, while rising trade winds may cause la Nina events

1983 Ash Wednesday in Australia

• Happened during the 1982-1983 el Nino event
• Drought was widespread throughout Victoria and South Australia
• More than 100 bushfires spread throughout the environment
• 75 people died
• 180 fires were reported in Victoria
• Many of the fires in Victoria were caused by sparks from damaged power lines spreading to nearby trees
• Improved electrical safety was later instituted in areas thought to be affected by this factor (including removing high-tension pylons)
• 5,200 sq. km land area burnt
• 16,000 firefighters set towards combatting the fires in Australia
• Large-scale response was required, including firecrew, police, and army (ADF)

Option D — Geophysical hazards

1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo

• On April 2, 1991, eruptive activity began in Mount Pinatubo, Luzon Volcanic Arc, Phillippines
• On June 12, the volcano erupted and sent an ash column into the air; the eruption was rated a 6 on the Volcanic Eruptivity Index
• Fine ash from the eruption traveled as far as the Indian Ocean
• Pyroclastic flows filled entire valleys as they ran down the volcano
• 16 commercial jets flew through the ash cloud, sustaining $100 mln. US in damages
• 850 deaths reported, mostly due to roofs collapsing from being weighed down by volcanic ash and material
• 2.1 mln. people affected
• 8,000 houses destroyed
• 73,000 houses damaged

1999 Vargas tragedy

• On 15 December, 1999, torrential rains caused massive landslides in La Guaira, Venezuela (then known as Vargas State)
• Since the 17th Century, at least 2 large-magnitude landslide, debris flow, or flood events have occurred per year on average
• Estimated damages between $1.8 and $3.5 bln. US
• 8,000 houses and 700 apartment buildings destroyed
• 75,000 people displaced
• Estimated death toll between 10,000 and 30,000
• Over 70% of local population affected
• First priority response was to evacuate survivors, with more than 100,000 people evacuated from the region
• Cuba sent a 450-strong medical brigade in international solidarity to help the affected

2010 Port-au-Prince earthquake

• On 12 January, 2010, a magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake hit Haiti, 25 km from the capital city of Port-au-Prince
• More than 54 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had occurred
• Estimated 3 mln. people affected by the quake
• Death toll estimates vary wildly, from 100,000 to 316,000 (the latter being an official upper bound figure)
• One of the main causes of death were the traditionally heavy roofs that people built houses with collapsing
• Government estimated that 250,000 residences were destroyed
• Aid was sent in by many countries, including the USA
• US companies were contracted to rebuild destroyed Haitian infrastructure, but they did a very poor job, even leaving the main parliament building unfinished
• Hospitals that were still intact were overwhelmed by the influx of patients, according to Doctors Without Borders
• Some estimates stated that up to 20,000 people died each day who could have been saved by surgery

2011 Tohoku earthquake

• On 11 March, 2011, a Mw (moment magnitude scale) 9.0 earthquake happened 72 km from the shore of the Tohoku region, Japan
• Most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan
• 20,000 dead (official data)
• 6,000 injured (official data)
• 2,500 missing (official data)
• Caused a tsunami which lead to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
• Estimated economic damage was $300 bln. US, costliest natural disaster in history
• 46,000 buildings destroyed
• 144,000 buildings damaged
• 340,000 people displaced in the Tohoku region
• New, higher seawalls were built afterwards, even though they would not have effectively prevented the disaster
• Tsunami was highly destructive for the environment, causing biodiversity loss

2018 Sunda Strait tsunami

• On 22 December, 2018, the southwestern side of Anak Krakatoa, Indonesia, collapsed into its caldera, causing a landslide, which itself caused a tsunami
• Factors contributing to loss of life were the lack of warning signals combined with it being holiday season (New Years)
• After the tsunami, the government invested in installing early warning systems
• Tectonically active zone, lies on the Ring of Fire
• Over 400 deaths
• Over 7,000 people injured
• Over 5,000 people displaced
• Immediate response focused mostly on repairing government buildings and compensating victims monetarily
• Foreign aid was sent in by several countries, including Australia

Option E — Sports, Leisure, Tourism

Example of horizontal integration in TNCs

• International Airlines Group owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Vueling Airlines

Example of vertical integration in TNCs

• EasyJet Holidays handles transport, accommodation, planning, etc. all at the same time

Niche markets example

• Deep Sea Freediving is a niche of Deep sea diving, which is a niche of Diving

Role of TNCs in tourism

• In 2023, tourism accounted for $9.5 trln. US of the global GDP
• In Spain, 150,000+ protestors from 40+ cities (including Madrid) have opposed the presence of Airbnb due to conversion of rental properties to tourist Airbnbs)
• In 1950, the average price of air travel per tonne kilometer was ~$7.5 US. In 2010, it dropped to ~$1 US
• Even older plane models are still in active use (e.g. Boeing 737-200 began mass-manufacture in 1964)

South Africa World Cup 2010

• Used 10x the money to host the world cup that they spent on fighting HIV that year
• Spent 40 bln. Rand
• Football fans were very satisfied and South Africa's global image improved, and tourism continued at similar increased rates
• Local stores mostly did not benefit from increased tourism because the government did not let tourists visit them
• Poor population not taken care of infrastructurally

Unsustainable tourism in Iceland

• Tourists outnumber locals (2.3 mln. arrivals in 2018 vs 347,000 local population)
• Number of visitors to Blue Lagoon increased from 50,000 (1994) to 1.3 mln. (2018)
• Tourism is the country's biggest export accounting for 8.4% of GDP

IPL and cricket

• Franchises are in India's urban centers ensure a massive fanbase, high stadium attendance, and high TV views; examples are Mumbai (20 mln.), Delhi (16 mln.), Kolkata (14 mln.), Bangalore (8 mln.)
• The league targets young audiences and 81.8% of IPL viewers are aged 18–25, making cities with large younger populations (like Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Pune) ideal locations for the league
• The IPL's value reached $18.5 bln. US in 2025, a 12.9% increase from 2024
• IPL 2025 generated $600 million in advertising revenue, a 50% increase from 2024 due to platforms like Jio Hotstar and targeted MSME campaigns
• Flight bookings to cities increased by up to 25%, while train bookings to cities like Hyderabad increased 183%
• Star Sports attracted also had 253 million unique TV viewers over the season, a 14% increase from 2024
• The per-match value increased by 62.7% from the previous cycle

Olympic Games in Rio 2016

• 30 mln. items bought
• 17,000 tons of waste produced
• 6,000 tons of food consumed
• 28,500 athletes and staff flown in
• 1500 buses used
• 29,500 gigawatt hours of electricity consumed
• 23,500 liters of fuel used
• 3.6 mln. tons of CO2 emitted

Overtourism in Dubrovnik, Croatia

• Mass influx of tourism due to being declared a UNESCO world heritage site and being used as a film location in the Game of Thrones TV series
• 60,000 location-spotting tourists per year
• Air flights are affordable due to European budget flights, cruise ships disgorge thousands of tourists each day
• Tourists mostly spend the money of their stay on Airbnb and other TNCs, with locals receiving very little money
• Permanent population reduced from 5,000 (1991) to 1,500
• "Respect the City" initiative focuses not on limiting tourist numbers but on making the flow of tourist activity throughout the city more even
• Through tourism control, now only two cruise liners can disembark per day, and tourists must stay for at least 8 hours before reboarding
• Smaller cruise companies (such as those operated by the Small Cruise Ship Collective) work with the city, carrying no more than 100 passengers and only providing one- or two-night stay options, stimulating the local economy
• Up to 200 daily buses during peak season (July and August)
• Dubrovnik Pass created that requires a fee to visit key attractions (around 80% of tourists get it)