Turkey facing Lira depreciation, tourism waning amidst crisis

Global Business

Turkey is facing difficult times on many fronts, aside from struggling with the effects of the Syrian conflict and internal conflict such as the coup attempt and Kurdish conflict.

The government is now facing vital economic challenges. Turkish President Erdogan has even called on the public for support.

CCTV’s Michal Bardavid reports. Follow Michal Bardavid on Twitter @michal_bardavid

Turkey’s economy has been taking hits due to external and internal factors for months now. The Syrian conflict and back to back terrorist attacks took a toll on the tourism industry in 2016. The added tension of a military coup attempt that led to a declaration of a state of emergency has not helped either.

As relations have also soured with the European Union, over Turkey’s crackdown following the coup attempt that led to over 120,000 people being suspended or sacked, the Turkish currency has also been suffering.

The Turkish Lira dropped 17 percent against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of the year. The Central Bank raised borrowing costs. But it did not help. Turkish President Erdogan called on the citizens for support asking them to exchange the dollars they kept under the pillow for Turkish Liras. Turkey’s main stock exchange responded by converting all of its cash into Turkish Liras.

Despite a better than expected 7 percent annual inflation announcement on Dec. 5, economists believe difficult times are ahead.

The weakening of the Turkish Lira has had a significant impact on local business owners, especially on those who import products with Euros or U.S. Dollars. Many report sales have also been affected.

The Turkish government is expected to take more action in the upcoming days to halt the depreciation of the Lira and increase investor confidence, yet with both internal and external factors hitting the economy, 2017 is projected to be a difficult year indeed.


Bulent Aliriza on the Turkish economy

The economy of Turkey is facing a number of changes and difficulties, especially growing concerns over its currency’s stability. To learn more about the current state of the Turkish economy, CCTV America’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke with Bulent Aliriza, director and senior associate of Turkey Project for CSIS.