ANKARA: Turkey’s tainted image in the wake of its crackdown on opponents after the failed putsch in the country has had a negative impact on the economy and development prospects. Daniel Heinrich reports from Istanbul. Hasan Selamat is perplexed. For 35 years, he’s run a small jewelry shop in a backstreet near a bazaar in Istanbul. He’s never experienced anything like the present situation some months after the failed coup in mid-July. “In the first days after the putsch, it hadn’t been so obvious at all,” he said. “But in the process, we witnessed more and more customers staying away. I can personally understand the tourists as many live in fear and do not want to travel to Istanbul because of the recent political events.”
Tourism accounts for roughly 13 percent of Turkey’s gross domestic product (GDP). Since the beginning of 2016, revenues from the sector have shrunk by 40 percent, also hitting Hasan Selamat. “My business is ruined,” he said. “In a cautious estimate, my revenues have declined by 80 percent, compared with last year’s figures.”
The Turkish economy is hurting. GDP decreased by 1.8 percent in the third quarter, marking the first contraction since 2009. According to US ratings agency Moody’s, the domestic economy will only grow by 2.7 percent in the next three years, way below the average 5.5 percent logged between 2010 and 2014.
