The Hawaiian island of Maui suffered some of its most catastrophic wildfires in August last year.
The earth was scorched, nearly 100 people lost their lives and nearly every building in the historic town of Lahaina was destroyed.
Days later, hotel heiress Paris Hilton was spotted less than 50 kilometres away from the devastation on a luxury holiday.
Local police and Hawaiian-born actor Jason Momoa were among those asking tourists to stay away from the devastated areas.
Fast forward a few months, and Cyclone Jasper made landfall in Far North Queensland just before Christmas, dropping huge amounts of rain and sparking mass tourism cancellations in one of the industry’s busiest seasons.
But in the aftermath of the cyclone, authorities were pleading with tourists to return.
So, with these mixed messages, is it ever OK to be a tourist in a disaster zone?
And how can you know when to stay away?
‘Crisis tourists’ can hamper recovery efforts
Since Christmas Eve, the Scenic Rim region in…
