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9.1.8 Tourism sector news
Surge in Turkey bookings by British holidaymakers recorded by Thomas Cook. Turkey has leapfrogged Greece to become this summer’s second most popular package holiday destination for British holidaymakers, Thomas Cook has said. Around this time last year, Turkey ranked at number three. “Turkey accounts for a quarter of all Thomas Cook Airlines flight-only bookings so far,” the tour operators added in their 2019 UK Holiday Report. Thomas Cook reported a 27% increase in flight-only bookings to Turkey this year compared to the same time last year. “Aside from its attractiveness for being outside of the EU, Turkey’s value for money and diversity, with sandy beaches, salt lakes and ancient ruins, is driving its position as a 2019 tourism hotspot,” the operator said. The Turkish lira has been one of the worst performing EM currencies for the past year, making the country cheaper for foreign tourists, especially from Europe. The lira has lost more than 11% of its value against the dollar so far this year and has weakened around 10% against the euro. Last year, it lost around a third of its value against the dollar. The Turkish government is aiming to increase the country’s tourism revenues to $34bn this year from last year’s $29bn.
9.1.9 Utilities sector news
State-owned EUAS hiked electricity prices for utility companies by 37% in April . The price hike will not be reflected to consumers, energy industry watchdog EPDK said. Electricity consumption in industrial production continued to fall, at 12% y/y, in January while consumption in agricultural irrigation declined by 60% y/y.
99 TURKEY Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com