The evaluation of the flood disaster in Akçakoca district in 2019 in terms of sustainable tourism

Akçakoca is an important tourism resort with its natural and cultural attractions. Coastal (sea) tourism, which has started to develop since the 1950s, has attracted local and foreign tourists to the region. In the 1990s, the shift of coastal tourism to the Mediterranean Region, where the season is longer, adversely affected tourism in Akçakoca. Since this date, foreign tourists have started to be replaced by domestic tourists and Akçakoca has come to the fore as a local tourism resort. The aim of the study is to examine the effects of the flood disaster in Akçakoca district in 2019 in terms of the sustainability of tourism. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 16 accommodation businesses operating in Akçakoca. In the study, in which structured interview questions were used, maximum diversity sampling method was used. The data used in this study were obtained from a form consisting of 3 parts and a total of 30 questions about tourism enterprises, Akçakoca tourism and flood. In the study, it was concluded that the flood disaster that took place in 2019 affected Akçakoca extremely negatively, there was a decrease in the number of tourists, damages occurred, and commercial losses were experienced due to these. Also, in terms of the sustainability of tourism in Akçakoca, it is emerged that city planning needs to be done again, and unplannedness is effective in increasing the effects of the flood disaster. However, it has been concluded that alternative tourism opportunities should be created in order for Akçakoca tourism to be sustainable because only sea tourism has turned into an unsustainable situation due to natural disasters. Keywords: Flood Disaster, Tourism, Tourism Sustainability, Akçakoca.