Earthquake, inflation, weak exports – the Turkish economy is reeling

Istanbul The earthquake triggered a humanitarian catastrophe – and it shook the Turkish economy. Sekib Avdagic, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, presents a grim example: Since the beginning of February, sales in the shopping centers of the economic metropolis have plummeted by 35 percent, and in the luxury segment by as much as 80 percent. The hotels recorded a drop in occupancy of 30 percent.

Just over a year ago, Turkey was still an attractive destination for many investors. The country had quickly recovered from the pandemic, gained weight as an alternative to the increasingly geopolitically unsafe locations in the Far East, and the economy grew by more than ten percent a year.