AFP, Istanbul :
Six suicide attacks in eight months and a spat with Russia have added to concerns for the Turkish economy as tourists flee, taking billions of dollars in spending elsewhere, and foreign investors skirt the troubled country.
Days after a suspected Islamic State jihadist blew himself up on a top shopping street in Istanbul, hotels, restaurants and retailers in the city are counting their losses.
Shops and restaurants on Istiklal Street, the usually bustling two-kilometre-long pedestrian artery targeted in the March 19 attack, complain of a sharp drop in business since the bombing, which killed four foreigners and injured dozens.
The attack on Istiklal-the beating heart of Turkey’s biggest city-emphasised the security threat after three deadly suicide attacks in the capital Ankara.
While financial markets have so far reacted with relative sangfroid to the terror wave, analysts say the bloodshed is putting strain on Turkey which is already battling high inflation and mid-term economic uncertainty.
“There could be large economic costs from these attacks, particularly in terms of long-investment and the tourism sector,” William Jackson, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, told AFP.
Western tourist numbers have slowed since Turkey began to come under sustained attack from IS jihadists and Kurdish rebels last July.
The industry’s headaches worsened when Turkey shot down a Russian jet on its border with Syria in November, nearly eradicating the key annual influx of Russian tourists.
Six suicide attacks in eight months and a spat with Russia have added to concerns for the Turkish economy as tourists flee, taking billions of dollars in spending elsewhere, and foreign investors skirt the troubled country.
Days after a suspected Islamic State jihadist blew himself up on a top shopping street in Istanbul, hotels, restaurants and retailers in the city are counting their losses.
Shops and restaurants on Istiklal Street, the usually bustling two-kilometre-long pedestrian artery targeted in the March 19 attack, complain of a sharp drop in business since the bombing, which killed four foreigners and injured dozens.
The attack on Istiklal-the beating heart of Turkey’s biggest city-emphasised the security threat after three deadly suicide attacks in the capital Ankara.
While financial markets have so far reacted with relative sangfroid to the terror wave, analysts say the bloodshed is putting strain on Turkey which is already battling high inflation and mid-term economic uncertainty.
“There could be large economic costs from these attacks, particularly in terms of long-investment and the tourism sector,” William Jackson, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics in London, told AFP.
Western tourist numbers have slowed since Turkey began to come under sustained attack from IS jihadists and Kurdish rebels last July.
The industry’s headaches worsened when Turkey shot down a Russian jet on its border with Syria in November, nearly eradicating the key annual influx of Russian tourists.
