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Türkiye Focuses on Industry, Digital Transformation to Improve Investment Environment

Yilmaz speaks during the summit in London. (From his account on the X platform)
Yilmaz speaks during the summit in London. (From his account on the X platform)
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Türkiye Focuses on Industry, Digital Transformation to Improve Investment Environment

Yilmaz speaks during the summit in London. (From his account on the X platform)
Yilmaz speaks during the summit in London. (From his account on the X platform)

Türkiye has finalized a plan to improve the investment environment, with the aim to simplify legislation and administrative procedures and accelerate digital and green transformation in industry. The country has also pledged to continue working to reduce inflation and achieve permanent price stability.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said that within the scope of studies of the Coordination Council for Improving the Investment Environment, an action plan consisting of 57 items was prepared in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, the private sector and public institutions, to facilitate and simplify legislation and administrative and judicial processes related to investments in the country.

The plan also seeks to develop locations for investment opportunities, especially for industry, provide target-oriented financing, accelerate the digital and green transformation of industry, and meet the needs of vocational training and labor markets.

On the other hand, Yilmaz stressed the Turkish government’s commitment to reduce inflation to achieve permanent price stability.

Addressing a meeting with international investors in London on the sidelines of the Global Soft Power Summit 2024, the minister said that the medium-term economic program announced by the Turkish government last September was achieving its desired goals.

He noted that although inflation has reached its peak at about 65 percent, the Turkish government is confident that anti-inflation policies will lead to a sharp downward trend in the second half of 2024. He expected inflation to reach about 15 percent in 2025, with a goal of reaching single-digit numbers in 2026.

Yilmaz pointed to the quality and diversity of investments in Türkiye, with its strategic location at the crossroads of three continents, in addition to its wide network of free trade agreements, which makes it a center for commercial and economic activities.

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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."