Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Simon Calder’s advice after 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Istanbul

Is it still safe to travel to Turkey? Simon Calder's advice after 6.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Istanbul

Transcript

00:00I'm in the Adriatic Sea quite some distance from the terrible earthquake which has struck

00:05about 45 miles southwest of Istanbul in Turkey. A lot of concern about this. Now it is worth

00:14remembering that Turkey is very much on one of the world's most lively tectonic faults which

00:23runs about 20 miles south of Istanbul. Therefore there have been over the years many tragic earthquakes

00:34with a high loss of life and that should always be part of anyone's planning when traveling to

00:42southeast Europe because unfortunately there is a long history of earthquakes. In terms of what

00:51your rights are if you are in Istanbul and you wish to leave as soon as possible it's possible

00:56that the airline may be able to put you on an earlier flight may or may not charge you extra for

01:04that. You're unlikely in the absence of foreign office advice against travel to Istanbul to get

01:12any kind of compensation for the lost time. If you have a trip booked to Istanbul and the holiday

01:20company says it can still go ahead that the hotel is in good condition and that everything is safe

01:26then again there is no grounds for cancelling that trip. Looking further ahead I dare say that this

01:35latest event will put people off traveling to Turkey. I am very happy to go there but I am aware

01:43that there is a background risk. Travel insurance will be of some help to some people but remember

01:52that so-called disinclination to travel is not grounds for getting refund on the money you have spent for

01:59a holiday. The key is does the foreign office warn against travel to that location.