This time I was thinking  about the idea that a massive catastrophe can actually become a huge draw for a city. I know, it sounds a little dark but history shows that disaster often turns into a major asset for tourism.

Take the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Instead of just mourning the collapse, city leaders flipped the script. They marketed the city as a "modern marvel" being rebuilt from the ground up. Before they knew it, the ruins themselves became part of the local legend and started pulling people in.

New Orleans did something similar after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While 80% of the neighborhoods were still dealing with damage, they launched a massive campaign. They branded themselves as the "comeback city."

It seems there’s a consistent pattern at play here. A disaster creates a sudden absence or a void. That absence creates a sense of longing in people, and eventually, that longing turns into a huge demand to visit.

It’s crazy to see how this "recovery playbook" is playing out right now in real time. 

Take Maui, for example. The Lahaina wildfire in 2023 was the deadliest in the U.S. in over a century. It’s heartbreaking, but the reality is that tourism brings in about 70% of every dollar on the island. They aren't being shy about it, they openly say they need visitors to survive.

Then there’s Asheville. Hurricane Helene hit them hard, causing around $60 billion in damage. You’d think people would stay away, but the opposite happened.

Even with the destruction, the city landed on huge "Top Places to Go" lists for 2025. When the storm hit, 30,000 jobs vanished instantly because that $3 billion in annual tourist spending just stopped.

The experts predicted a massive 70% drop in tourism for the end of 2024. But get this: visitors actually increased by 4% compared to before the storm.

It’s a wild statistic. It shows that while resilience is definitely real, it’s also becoming a very effective marketing strategy.