Turkey's tourist hotels and hotspots still under threat of catastrophic earthquakes

Tourist hotels and hotspots in Turkey are still at risk of destruction due to catastrophic earthquakes, a year after the deadly quakes that killed more than 50,000 people. While reconstruction and modernization efforts are underway, experts warn that hotels in tourist centers, including Istanbul, are among the buildings still at risk, inews.co reports.

Turkey is one of the most popular destinations for holidaymakers in the UK, and its popularity has increased dramatically in recent years. Tourist centers such as Antalya and Istanbul were hardly affected by last year's earthquake, but David Alexander, professor of emergency planning and management at UCL, warned that "the whole country is very seismic from start to finish" and Istanbul "is at risk of a large-scale earthquake."

Iman Hajirasulikha, a professor of civil engineering at the University of Sheffield and leader of the seismology team, said that "many tourist areas, including Istanbul, are prone to strong earthquakes." He warned that both old and new hotels and buildings could be vulnerable to destruction.

"Some older buildings, especially in rural areas, were designed to old standards or built using poor materials, poor construction practices, and insufficient detailing. These buildings tend to be unable to withstand high seismic loads, especially in the event of strong aftershocks," he added.

According to Prof. Hajirasulikha, some new buildings have insufficient "lateral load-bearing structures" due to the demolition of columns and walls, which leads to the "collapse of the soft floor."

"The government had a comprehensive scheme to strengthen old buildings. But it is very difficult and expensive to improve the seismic performance of low-quality buildings to an acceptable level, and in some cases impractical," he added.

After the earthquake, the number of bookings for vacations in Turkey fell but quickly recovered. Thomas Cook said that Turkey experienced a "short-term downturn" but now remains "one of our most popular destinations."

"Bookings are up 20% year-on-year, with significant growth in family travel. At the beginning of 2023, bookings to Turkey were high, but in February they dropped for about two weeks and by mid-March had already returned to January levels," the representative said.

No flights from the UK to Turkey have been canceled since the disaster, but several airports in southeastern Turkey have closed due to damage, including Hatay and Gaziantep Oguzeli.

The UK Foreign Office does not recommend traveling there, except to areas less than 10 km from the Syrian border.

After the disaster, Firuz Bagilkaya, president of the Turkish Travel Agencies Association, said that the government should allow tourists to request an earthquake safety certificate from their hotel to increase confidence in the sector.