عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Business

Turkish Tourism Sector Suffers Huge Losses

The most renowned Istiklal Street in Istanbul is almost deserted due to the low number of visitors and lockdown measures amid COVID-19 pandemic. AP
The most renowned Istiklal Street in Istanbul is almost deserted due to the low number of visitors and lockdown measures amid COVID-19 pandemic. AP
TT
TT

Turkish Tourism Sector Suffers Huge Losses

The most renowned Istiklal Street in Istanbul is almost deserted due to the low number of visitors and lockdown measures amid COVID-19 pandemic. AP
The most renowned Istiklal Street in Istanbul is almost deserted due to the low number of visitors and lockdown measures amid COVID-19 pandemic. AP

Turkey’s tourism sector has incurred huge losses during Q1 2021, in light of the remarkable decline in foreign tourist arrivals and revenues, data showed on Friday.

Turkey’s tourism revenues fell 40.2 percent and foreign visitor arrivals dropped 53.9 percent during the period between January and March, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

In the first quarter, revenues dropped to $2.45 billion, TurkStat noted.

In 2020, tourism revenues fell by 65 percent to $12.059 billion, which highlights the impact of the coronavirus-driven travel restrictions on the sector.

Meanwhile, the number of Turkish people who travelled abroad during the past tourism season also dropped during Q1 2021 by 84 percent.

The measures aimed at containing the pandemic in Turkey proved to have negative implications on tourism, which is crucial to foreign currency flows.

According to data published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), tourism directly accounted for 7.7 percent of total employment in 2018. “Total tourism income represented 3.8 percent of GDP,” it added.

Earlier this week, Turkey announced “full lockdown” to curb the COVID-19 spread.

“Turks will be required to stay mostly at home under a nationwide full lockdown starting on April 29 and lasting until May 17,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday.

Under the restrictions, which span the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and the three-day Eid holiday, residents are banned from leaving their homes except to shop for groceries or to meet other essential needs. Intercity travel requires special permits.

However, millions of people were exempted from the stay-at-home order. In addition to health sector workers and law enforcement officers, they include factory and agriculture workers as well as supply chain and logistics company employees. Tourists were also exempted, while restaurants are allowed to deliver food.

The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey estimated that some 16 million workers in the country of 84 million would continue to be on the move during the lockdown.

The streets of Ankara and Istanbul were quieter than usual. Nevertheless, workers exempted from the bans filled subways and buses in Istanbul, broadcaster Halk TV reported.

Police patrolled the streets and set up checkpoints at main intersections to ensure that residents who were out and about had documents proving they are exempted from the stay-home order.

Gendarmerie police were, meanwhile, stopping vehicles to ensure passengers had the necessary permits for intercity travel, causing long lines of vehicles.

The lockdown is the first to be implemented nationwide and lasting nearly three weeks. Erdogan’s government had previously imposed partial, shorter-term lockdowns or weekend curfews in a bid to reduce the closures’ impact on the economy.

Most Viewed

 
 
Business

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
TT
TT

IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
TT
TT

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
TT
TT

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.