Turkey’s tourism outlook is ‘bright’ and it is among the fastest-growing countries in the industry and among the most popular destinations, according to Julia Simpson, President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). Simpson told daily EKONOMI that Turkey has tourism riches and competitive prices. She also said the capacity created by Istanbul Airport and the flight connections of Turkish Airlines support the country to gain strength in the sector. Simpson also noted that tourism bookings have a strong course across the world despite the recession expectation.
A tangible step has been taken to create the infrastructure for the Price Tracking System, which aims to audit food inflation. Supermarket chains with over 200 branches will be obliged to give information about their products and stock to the Trade Ministry, according to a new regulation published in the Official Gazette.
The Minimum Wage Determination Commission held its first meeting yesterday. Unlike previous years, no statement was made following the closed-door meeting. The Commission will hold its second meeting on December 14. However, Ergun Atalay, President of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS), on the employee side, stated that the negotiation for the minimum wage will start at TRY 7,785. In the meantime, the minimum wage expectation of workers and employers was TRY 7,536 and TRY 7,050, respectively, below the hunger limit, according to the minimum wage expectation survey conducted by the Labor and Social Security Ministry. The minimum wage expectation of the ‘public’ consisting of people with different occupations besides workers and employers averaged TRY 7,845.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin will come to Istanbul for political consultations between Turkey and Russia on December 8-9, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consultations between the two countries will be held by delegations under the presidency of Vershinin and Foreign Deputy Minister Sedat Onal. Implementation of the grain deal with the United Nations, and regional issues such as Syria, Libya, and Palestine are expected to be discussed at the meeting in Istanbul.
DAILY AGENDA
The Central Bank will release weekly monetary and banking statistics (2.30 p.m.).
Meanwhile…
>> The per liter price of gasoline and diesel fuel will be reduced by TRY 2.01 and TRY 1.08, respectively, as of today.
>> Agricultural loans provided by state-owned Ziraat Bank have reached TRY 211bn, according to Alpaslan Cakar, General Manager of Ziraat Bank.
>> Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin in a phone call yesterday with the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan agreed to continue dialogue and consultation on global and regional matters, according to a statement from the Presidency.
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>> Internal tension, External normalization
Just months before a critical election in Turkey, the strategy that will be followed by the AK Party is taking shape. This can be summarized as follows: internal tension contrasted with external normalization.
