Turkish officials expect rapid recovery in tourism, exports by 2017

ANKARA

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Ankara expects a rapid recovery in the tourism sector and exports from next year, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said, noting that the recently revised growth forecast for 2016 is a “cautious” estimative. 

“Our revised 3.2 percent growth forecast for 2016 is only cautious as we can see higher growth … We have forecast that the country’s 4.4 percent expected growth in 2017 will be based on exports. We also expect a rapid recovery in the tourism sector,” Ağbal said in a televised interview, Reuters reported. 

The government has revised down its forecast for Turkey’s economy, which it now expects to grow 3.2 percent in 2016 and 4.4 percent in 2017, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Oct. 4 in what he described as a “worst case” scenario.
 
Yıldırım also announced a lowering of growth forecasts in the government’s medium-term economic program, which he put down to the “negative global situation.”

The program also forecasts that the current account deficit would equal 4.3 percent of gross domestic product this year, higher than a previous forecast of 3.9 percent.

Ağbal said there will a series of key developments in pushing up private sector investments, adding that debts worth around 13 billion Turkish Liras have recently been restructured.