Turkey Begins First Nationwide Lockdown... "Foreign Tourists Are Exempt"

Nationwide Movement Ban, Alcohol Sales Prohibition, and Other Strict Lockdown Measures
Controversy Grows Over Allowing Tourist Movement...Enforced Due to Large Economic Impact

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Turkey has announced its first nationwide strict COVID-19 lockdown restricting the movement of all citizens, but allowing foreign tourists to move freely, sparking controversy over its effectiveness. The Turkish government insists that while it must curb the spread of COVID-19, it cannot abandon the tourism industry, which accounts for more than 10% of the country's total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), amid a sharp depreciation of the currency and a severe economic downturn.

According to foreign media including CNBC on the 29th (local time), the Turkish Ministry of Interior announced that from that day until the 17th of next month, a full lockdown will be implemented nationwide across Turkey. Under this measure, all citizens are prohibited from moving except for purchasing essential goods and medical purposes. Schools will be closed and all classes will switch to online learning, and public transportation services will be reduced to less than 50% of their usual operation. Particularly, the complete ban on alcohol sales during the lockdown has caused a surge in public dissatisfaction among Turkish citizens.

The daily confirmed COVID-19 cases announced by Turkish health authorities on the day reached 37,624, ranking fourth in the world after India (386,829), Brazil (66,871), and the United States (48,893). Turkish health authorities aim to reduce the daily confirmed cases to around 5,000 through this lockdown measure.

However, controversy over the effectiveness of the lockdown has arisen as the Turkish government stated that it will maintain openness to foreign tourists and exceptionally allow the movement of foreigners visiting Turkey. Earlier on the 27th, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Turkey's Minister of Tourism, declared, "Foreign tourists will be exempt from all restriction measures," which sparked significant backlash.

The reason the Turkish government allows foreign tourists to move despite public opposition is believed to be economic. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data, tourism accounts for more than 10% of Turkey's GDP, and 7.7% of the total workforce is employed in the tourism sector. Additionally, the government reportedly cannot give up tourism as it compensates for 80% of the current account deficit caused by the recent sharp depreciation of the Turkish lira through foreign currency earnings from tourism.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.