Abstract:

Tourism activities which gained speed by the first years of the Republic in Turkey had come to a halt due to the adverse effects of World War Two created all around the world although Turkey didn’t enter the war actually. However, efforts were spent to continue tourism activities in Turkey as in the leading European countries in the direction of present  possibilities by means of either the government or the volunteered institutions. Although still thinking about tourism in war years seems a contradiction, considering tourism as an important item in propaganda and intelligence activities, as well as a significant source of income to overcome the financial difficulties after the war has caused tourism to remain in the world’s agenda and continuation of studies to benefit from this source during the war. World War Two has very closely affected the international relations, political, economical, social and cultural life all around the world, but its influence on the tourism and propaganda activities in Turkey is not examined seriously until today and this appears as an important deficit with regards to the history of Republic of Turkey. In this study, the status of tourism in Turkey in the years of World War Two (1939-1945) is assessed and realized tourism, publicity and propaganda activities are handled and thus, the positive and negative effects which the war created countrywide are put forth in the framework of the concepts in question.

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