麻豆社

Drawn by the favourable exchange rate, tourists are flocking to Turkey, but can they compensate for the country's wider economic woes? In 2020, Turkey was hit hard by the pandemic lockdown, soaring inflation, a weakening currency and a current account deficit. Last year, the number of visitors jumped 85.5%. Victoria Craig talks to tourists in Istanbul about how they're getting more value for money and visits traders in the Grand Bazaar. Tour guide Sebnem Altin at tour company Grand Circle Travel has mixed feelings about the future and economist Roger Kelly at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development puts the latest tourism figures in context.
Produced by Stephen Ryan and Gulsah Karadag.

(Image: Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, Credit: Victoria Craig)