ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the impact of the 1999 earthquake on tourism to Turkey, Turkish tourism authorities have regarded Kurdish terrorism as an impediment to the uninterrupted growth of its tourism industry, though a lesser threat than natural disasters. A common observation of rescue and relief teams, engineers, financial planners and others involved in assessing the impact of the Izmit earthquake was that there was little or no indication of readiness for earthquakes. The Izmit earthquake generated a vast amount of media coverage, much of it sympathetic to Turkey and especially the plight of the victims. The Izmit earthquake was a scene of cooperation of rescue teams from Israel and Arab states and the extensive involvement of US military rescue teams reinforced the Turkeys-United States alliance. The Turkish Ministry of Tourism was provided with strong moral and financial support by the Turkish government, enabling it to embark on a marketing restoration program after the Izmit earthquake.
