Marinas attracting rich tourists contribute 25% to tourism

Nurdoğan A. ERGÜN

In marina and yacht tourism, the importance of which is increasing day by day in world tourism, Turkey, surrounded by seas on three sides, stands out as an important destination. Turkey, which has 34 marinas, 41 berths and 22 shelters in total, has a yacht capacity of 21 thousand.

Research shows that tourists with private yachts, who are in the higher income group, spend more than 3 times more than other tourists. The foreign currency brought by a yacht with a wide variety of expenditures from mooring to catering is equivalent to the expenditure of approximately 30 tourists.

Türkiye’nin tarihi, kültü­rel ve doğal varlıklarıyla ziyaret potansiyelinin yüksek olduğunu söyleyen Ataköy Marina ve Yat İş­letmeleri AŞ Genel Müdürü Artun Ertem, “Sahip olduğumuz sahil şe­ridi ve marina tesis kalite ve stan­dartları itibarıyla deniz turizmi konusunda son derece nitelikli bir ülkeyiz. Bugün marinacılık sektö­rünün genel turizm gelirlerine do­laylı olarak yüzde 20 ila 25 katkısı olduğunu biliyoruz” dedi.

“Nitelikli turisti ülkeye çekmeliyiz”

Yatla gelen turistin alım gücü­nün daha yüksek olduğunu ve bir yatta ortalama 8 kişinin geldiğini söyleyen Ertem, “Yatla gelen tu­rist sadece marinayı kullanmı­yor; pazara çıkıyor, berbere gidi­yor, markete, lokantaya gidiyor. Dolayısıyla her segmente ekono­mik katkı sağlıyor” diye konuş­tu.

Hem paralı hem de nitelikli turisti ülkeye çekmenin önemi­ne vurgu yapan Ertem, “Alım gü­cü yüksek olan bu grup, bugünkü kur dengesinde bile para harca­maktan çekinmez. Ama sadece parası olan kitleye odaklanmak da yanlış turizm politikası olur. Kültürel ağırlıklı turistleri ülke­mize çekmeliyiz. Nitelikli turist, kültürel olarak da başka turistle­ri çeker” yorumunu yaptı. Ertem, kültüre yatırım yapan bir ülke­nin turizm potansiyelinin de ge­lişeceğine vurgu yaptı.

‘The marina to be built on the Black Sea will complete the line’
Stating that Turkey, which is surrounded by seas on three sides, should be at a higher level in marina investments, Ertem continued as follows: ‘The final point of a yacht leaving Spain should be the Black Sea, not Marmara. There is no Turkish marina in the Black Sea for a yachtsman who wants to visit the Black Sea. There is one in Sochi. We need to complete that route. We should have a marina area on the Black Sea coast so that yachts can come here.

There are fishing shelters, but there is an urgent need for a marina at the standard of Ataköy Marina or Yalıkavak Marina.’ Ertem stated that there are marina projects in the region, but there are no actively operating marinas. Stating that there are 34 marinas in Turkey, 8 in Istanbul, 6 in the North Aegean, 9 in the South Aegean and 10 in the Mediterranean, Ertem said, ‘The total number of marinas and yacht berths is 75. The share of yacht berths in the cake is very small.’

‘Rental fees should be reduced to a reasonable level’
Stating that there has been a decrease in the number of foreign yachts coming to marinas recently, Ertem said, ‘Various incentives are needed to increase the number of these yachts in our country. For example, charter licence fees for mega yachts should be reduced to more reasonable levels.’ Referring to the expense items in the marinas, Ertem said the following: ‘Our biggest expense item is rental fees. The rental fees determined by the National Real Estate should be reduced to more reasonable levels. Marinas that bring foreign currency to the country should also benefit from certain incentives like exporters.’

Ertem stated that Ataköy Marina is a first due to the fact that it was built for mega yachts, and noted that the existing marina has reached 100 per cent capacity.

‘Marinas are the assurance of clean seas’
Artun Ertem said that there is a wrong perception in the public opinion such as ‘marinas pollute the seas’ and said, ‘On the contrary, marinas prevent the pollution of the sea because they are under control and supervision. A yacht wandering around uncontrolled threatens the environment. Marinas are the assurance of clean seas. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture constantly inspect us. Therefore, we are the assurance of clean seas.’

‘We provide not only jobs but also professions’
Artun Ertem stated that Ataköy Marina has 36 personnel and drew attention to the problem of finding qualified personnel in their sector. ‘Let us give you both a job and a profession,’ said Ertem, ’Our greatest desire is to train young people and bring them into the sector as qualified personnel. Thus, they can have a profession and find a job easily in every region of the world. Marina management is a profession that is valid in the world. We offer internship opportunities to students from tourism vocational high schools and marina management departments. We employed two of the interns who came this summer.’

Annual mooring provides 80% price advantage
Explaining that pricing in marinas is made on a daily basis over square metres, Artun Ertem said, ‘Making a long-term contract in a marina instead of mooring at a daily tariff gives the yachtsman an advantage of nearly 80 percent.’ Ertem also noted that marinas provide needs such as water, internet and cable TV for megayachts.