We witnessed services sector’s share in total GDP has inevitably increased over the last 20-30 years. And the preference for and the composition of financial activities have most likely shaped based on this reality over time. It can be seen that Banking and Finance segments stand out most among the Service Activities. And we take a closer look at the details of the sectors; they clearly reflect that these two segments have been greatly improving in terms of foreign currency earning activities.
Now, let’s take a look at another sector: Competing in more than 120 countries worldwide, Turkish contractors helped our country take the second place right after China in the world league of giants. Getting the lion’s share of Service exports, Turkish tourism sector seems like it will grow stronger and stronger with the launch of Istanbul Airport. I normally show a sceptical approach to such “mega projects” but it’s a fait accompli and there’s nothing we can do about it now. It looks like THY, Pegasus and Atlas airlines will also get a considerable share when this new airport becomes fully operational.
“Even the Universities are exporters now…”
A quick look at the education sector: Istanbul is home to a total of 140 thousand international students. Universities standing out with their large numbers of international students currently earn considerable amounts in foreign currency. While healthcare facilities, on the other hand, are providing health services to nearly 700 thousand international patients. When we combine the above-mentioned data with 32 million tourists visiting Turkey each year, we reach to a final amazing result. 44 billion dollars!
Altınbaş University ranks among the top three each year in Turkey’s international student recruitment charts. We highly expect our University to take one of top three places this year too. With its “internationalization” Mission and Vision, Altınbaş University’s doors are open to students from almost 70 countries.
All the facts I mentioned above clearly show us that the definition of foreign currency earning activities must be expanded while accordingly redesigning approaches to incentive regulation.
