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Update: Turkish economy collapsing, $2.5 billion in cash alone has flown out of Turkey less than a month

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Erdoğan: Currency speculators trying to bring down Turkish economy

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has claimed Turkey’s struggling economy is under attack from foreign exchange speculators, while also praising citizens who have converted their foreign currencies into liras.

“They are trying to destroy our economy through foreign exchange speculation. Are there no problems with our economy? Yes, there are. But our government has been taking the required measures and will continue to do so,” Erdoğan said in a speech to neighborhood leaders in the presidential palace in Ankara on Dec. 7.

He noted that he saw “no economic reason” for the Turkish Lira’s recent plunge, after the lira lost as much as one fifth of its value against the U.S. dollar this year before rebounding slightly on Dec. 6.

Casting recent weakness in the Turkish currency as a plot by outside powers to destroy the economy, Erdoğan has repeatedly called for Turkish citizens to convert any dollars under their mattresses into liras or gold, while urging businesses to conduct more transactions in the local currency.

Turkey has lost 2.5 billion dollars in cash in one month: CHP

Some $2.5 billion is cash alone has flown out of Turkey in less than a month, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chair Selin Sayek Böke has said, criticizing the government for creating “structural problems” with its draconian state of emergency decrees.

“The net outflow of cash since the beginning of November alone is $2.5 billion,” Böke said on Dec. 7, speaking after her party’s central executive board meeting.

She also rejected President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s claim that Turkey was being targeted in an economic war by shady outside forces, saying the government’s state of emergency decrees after the failed July 15 coup attempt had created “structural problems” that paved the way for economic strife.

“In the process that started with the extension of the state of emergency, the discussions on presidential system shift, and the deterioration of relations with the EU, the Turkish Lira became one of four currencies that have lost the most value,” Böke said.

“In addition to structural problems, there are political problems in Turkey. With the state of emergency, democracy has been abolished. The law has been destroyed by decree laws … For the sake of its own political power, the government is engaging in fights with the whole world. Political risks are leading Turkey to break away from the world,” she added.

Turkish Economy collapsing, Hotel occupancy down 57% “Erdogan in begging mode”

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AFP photo

AFP photo

Turkey’s hotel occupancy rates plunged below 57 percent in May, as the country saw the worst drop across Europe after Belgium, the Turkish Touristic Hotels and Investors Association (TÜROB) said in a written statement.

While hotel occupancy rates declined by 19.1 percent in May to 56.5 percent compared to the same month of 2015 due to rising security concerns and the diplomatic crisis with Russia, Belgium saw a 20.8 percent year-on-year drop after the suicide bombings in Brussels in March.Hotel occupancy rates in Turkey fell by 16.2 percent to 51.7 percent in the first five months of the year compared to the same month of 2015, ranking them worst across Europe, according to data compiled by TÜROB from STR Global’s figures.

Average daily room prices also declined by 33 percent to 83.20 euros in May compared to the same month of 2015.

Hotels in Istanbul were worst hit, with hotel occupancy rates in Turkey’s largest city declining by 26.1 percent to 55.4 percent in May compared to the same month of 2015. Istanbul was also the city that saw the second biggest plunge in hotel occupancy rates in Europe after Brussels.

While average daily room prices declined by 24.4 percent to 105.10 euros in Istanbul in May, average revenue per available room also decreased to 58.20 euros, marking a 44.1 percent drop from the same period of 2015.

Hotel occupancy rates in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya also decreased by 9.4 percent to 57.8 percent in May compared to the same month of 2015, marking a 32 percent decrease in average daily prices to 66.4 euros.