As dollar rises, Turkey's tourism income suffers
Turkey's weak currency means more tourists can afford to travel there, but it doesn’t mean more revenue for the country.
In 2004, when the price of a small bottle of water was a million Turkish liras, the country decided to remove six zeros from Turkish currency. When the decision was implemented Jan. 3, 2005, a dollar equaled 1.34 liras.
The idea was to boost the value of the Turkish currency and improve its image. The lira gained some with the dollar's global drop in value, and in 2008 a dollar was selling for 1.14 liras. That year, Turkey hosted almost 31 million tourists, who spent an average of $820 each, for a total of $25.4 billion.
But the value of Turkey's currency again began sliding, and in 2009, $1 equaled 1.54 liras. Though the number of tourists rose to 32 million, overall tourism revenue declined to $25.1 billion, as the average tourist spent $783.
In 2010, $1 equaled 1.5 liras. Though the number of tourists rose to about 33 million, tourism revenue fell to $24.9 billion as tourists spent an average of only $755 each.
