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There are a few questions here about whether tourism monies ameliorate the effects of a disaster, and this lends some credence to a theory that a disaster can drive additional traffic to a region that had a history of tourism. Possible examples: Perugia, Italy post-earthquake, Indonesia post-tsunami.

This question asks if there are any known regions where a near-term disaster opened up new tourism inflows? This is mostly driven by the current wildfires in Chile. It led me to ask if certain undiscovered primitive sites were exposed through a disaster like fire? Something like hidden Mayan or Aztec ruins via a jungle wildfire? Or possibly, hidden lake-engulfed cities exposed by drought?

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    Never heard of a positive impact. As an anecdote, I was in Indonesia after a disaster and it was ghostly. Even in Bali, I had entire kilometers of beaches to myself. I flew back on a Boeing 767 where we were less than 10 passengers!
    – Itai
    Commented Jan 26, 2017 at 19:33
  • In the aftermath of the Yellowstone fires of 1988, the number of known waterfalls in the park doubled. Don't know if it had an impact on the tourist numbers, though.
    – Mark
    Commented Jan 27, 2017 at 2:44

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I suspect hiking to the top of Mount Pinatubo might fit in this category.

A fair-sized lake now graces the summit where a lot of rock was previously. At least 846 people died in the 1991 eruption so it certainly qualifies as a disaster.

Wikipedia says (original source link is currently dead, emphasis added):

The caldera formed and Lake Pinatubo has since become a tourist attraction with the preferred route through Barangay Santa Juliana in Capas, Tarlac.

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