Hope floats for marine tourism
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Betül Çal
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 27, 2009 00:00
ANTALYA - Despite thousands of vessels from all around the world visiting the bays of Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Antalya every year, bringing approximately $4 million a year to the Turkish economy, sea tourism is an often underrated part of the country’s assets. The industry authorities believe that the country can at least double that amount if it is supported with new and improved facilities as well as creating laws that will protect the bays from many dangers
Although Turkey’s sea tourism industry, which includes all kinds of naval activities conducted with marina vessels, has become a quickly developing and profitable area in recent years, it faces serious problems that might endanger its future.
Gündüz Nalbantoğlu, chairman of the Bodrum Chamber of Shipping, highlighted the undiscovered potential of Turkey’s sea tourism, which significantly contributes to the national income. But the industry is at stake and immediate precautions should be taken immediately in order to keep competing internationally, he said in an interview with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"The major problem is waste and protecting the bays. If we do not protect our bays as soon as possible, we will no longer mention any sea tourism in Turkey," Nalbantoğlu said. While asking for special attention to seamen, who are the key elements for running and protecting the sector, Nalbantoğlu urged support from citizens, governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
Hasan Mengi, chairman of the Marmaris Chamber of Shipping, agreed with Nalbantoğlu on the problems that sea tourism faces today, but he also listed the lack of harbor launches as a major problem, especially for small boats.
"On the other hand, our district is a special environmental area, so shipyard construction is forbidden. But new marinas are urgently needed since all the marinas are working at full capacity," said Mengi, adding that other problems include the lack of a coastal master plan, new harbor launches, petroleum without value-added tax and the waste issue.
Officials are of the opinion that the lack of investments to make better use of the natural beauties that our country owns Ğ such as bays, seas and coasts Ğ is a growing problem. Unless new investments and investors are attracted to the field, the industry’s financial gains will melt away before the country can make the best of it.
The income obtained from sea tourism constitutes 25 percent of total tourism revenues in Turkey. Despite the problems it faces today, the industry keeps its popularity as a result of the fact that the overall costs are lower when compared to those of airways and highways.
According to a report released by the Marmaris Chamber of Shipping, some 80 percent of all tourists in Turkey come for sea tourism. But the popularity of the all-inclusive system, which seems to have worked well for years, suffers from the low-price policy and overshadows some other aspects of sea tourism such as marinas and marina management, cruise tourism, and water sports and diving tourism, the authorities say.
As one of the sector authorities, Ahmet Erol, board chairman of Antalya Chamber of Shipping, also believes that sea tourism can save the Turkish economy if managed well. "Sea tourism contributes to the overall tourism income by $3.5 million to $4 million annually. This serious contribution can be increased if the sector is supported with new facilities and laws," Erol told the Daily News.
The regions that contribute most to the Turkey sea tourism include Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Antalya, Erol said, adding that thousands of vessels visit these regions from around the world every year.
Agreeing with Erol the potential of Turkey’s sea tourism, Nalbantoğlu explained that sea tourism does not only refer to the marina sector. Besides its transportation aspect, sea tourism should also be closely associated with the fishery sector for which it creates serious employment opportunities and with the strategic position it would take in Turkey’s defense.
Cruiser tourism, newly developing sector
While mentioning how much Turkey could benefit from sea tourism if enough attention is given to the industry, Erol emphasized cruiser tourism.
"Among the fields that sea tourism feeds, cruiser tourism is of great importance in terms of the income it supplies. Each tourist who visits our country on a cruise spends at least 300 euros, which basically includes taxi costs, jewelry, leather and carpet expenses, being the most common ones," Erol said.
Highlighting the importance of cruiser tourism similar to Erol, Nalbantoğlu also said, "Having a total capacity of 7,756 marinas, the Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Göcek regions are especially important for cruiser tourism. I believe that cruiser tourism, which has been developing in our country, will become the main tourism branch with the increase in the number of marinas."
"The number of cruisers visiting only the Muğla region amounted to 162,923 as of 2008. Moreover, the number of yachts registered at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and rented across Turkey is 1,267, 90 of which are located in the Muğla region," he said. Nalbantoğlu also emphasized that the sector is open to further development.
Similar to Nalbantoğlu, Mengi also pointed out the importance of cruiser tourism in Turkey. "Marmaris occupies a critical position in this sub-sector of sea tourism with its coastal line of 547 meters," he said.
"Some 8,500 people work in the sea tourism industry in the district. Four marinas located in Marmaris have 2,881 yacht anchoring points, all of which are full today. Moreover, ferry expeditions are held between Marmaris and Rhodes Island, and these ferries carry more than 100,000 passengers annually," Mengi said, adding that if the total capacity is increased with new investments and the sector is supported with new laws, revenue will also increase.
Authorities agree that apart from cruiser tourism, the growth of water sports and diving tourism have also gained pace for the last few years.
"The development of water sports and diving tourism is rather a positive event for us; this can be a good opportunity to diversify the industry by supplying new blood from different sub-sectors," said Nalbantoğlu, adding that the number of firms engaged in the field is around 300, all of which are officially registered.
Gündüz Nalbantoğlu, chairman of the Bodrum Chamber of Shipping, highlighted the undiscovered potential of Turkey’s sea tourism, which significantly contributes to the national income. But the industry is at stake and immediate precautions should be taken immediately in order to keep competing internationally, he said in an interview with the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"The major problem is waste and protecting the bays. If we do not protect our bays as soon as possible, we will no longer mention any sea tourism in Turkey," Nalbantoğlu said. While asking for special attention to seamen, who are the key elements for running and protecting the sector, Nalbantoğlu urged support from citizens, governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
Hasan Mengi, chairman of the Marmaris Chamber of Shipping, agreed with Nalbantoğlu on the problems that sea tourism faces today, but he also listed the lack of harbor launches as a major problem, especially for small boats.
"On the other hand, our district is a special environmental area, so shipyard construction is forbidden. But new marinas are urgently needed since all the marinas are working at full capacity," said Mengi, adding that other problems include the lack of a coastal master plan, new harbor launches, petroleum without value-added tax and the waste issue.
Officials are of the opinion that the lack of investments to make better use of the natural beauties that our country owns Ğ such as bays, seas and coasts Ğ is a growing problem. Unless new investments and investors are attracted to the field, the industry’s financial gains will melt away before the country can make the best of it.
The income obtained from sea tourism constitutes 25 percent of total tourism revenues in Turkey. Despite the problems it faces today, the industry keeps its popularity as a result of the fact that the overall costs are lower when compared to those of airways and highways.
According to a report released by the Marmaris Chamber of Shipping, some 80 percent of all tourists in Turkey come for sea tourism. But the popularity of the all-inclusive system, which seems to have worked well for years, suffers from the low-price policy and overshadows some other aspects of sea tourism such as marinas and marina management, cruise tourism, and water sports and diving tourism, the authorities say.
As one of the sector authorities, Ahmet Erol, board chairman of Antalya Chamber of Shipping, also believes that sea tourism can save the Turkish economy if managed well. "Sea tourism contributes to the overall tourism income by $3.5 million to $4 million annually. This serious contribution can be increased if the sector is supported with new facilities and laws," Erol told the Daily News.
The regions that contribute most to the Turkey sea tourism include Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Antalya, Erol said, adding that thousands of vessels visit these regions from around the world every year.
Agreeing with Erol the potential of Turkey’s sea tourism, Nalbantoğlu explained that sea tourism does not only refer to the marina sector. Besides its transportation aspect, sea tourism should also be closely associated with the fishery sector for which it creates serious employment opportunities and with the strategic position it would take in Turkey’s defense.
Cruiser tourism, newly developing sector
While mentioning how much Turkey could benefit from sea tourism if enough attention is given to the industry, Erol emphasized cruiser tourism.
"Among the fields that sea tourism feeds, cruiser tourism is of great importance in terms of the income it supplies. Each tourist who visits our country on a cruise spends at least 300 euros, which basically includes taxi costs, jewelry, leather and carpet expenses, being the most common ones," Erol said.
Highlighting the importance of cruiser tourism similar to Erol, Nalbantoğlu also said, "Having a total capacity of 7,756 marinas, the Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris and Göcek regions are especially important for cruiser tourism. I believe that cruiser tourism, which has been developing in our country, will become the main tourism branch with the increase in the number of marinas."
"The number of cruisers visiting only the Muğla region amounted to 162,923 as of 2008. Moreover, the number of yachts registered at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and rented across Turkey is 1,267, 90 of which are located in the Muğla region," he said. Nalbantoğlu also emphasized that the sector is open to further development.
Similar to Nalbantoğlu, Mengi also pointed out the importance of cruiser tourism in Turkey. "Marmaris occupies a critical position in this sub-sector of sea tourism with its coastal line of 547 meters," he said.
"Some 8,500 people work in the sea tourism industry in the district. Four marinas located in Marmaris have 2,881 yacht anchoring points, all of which are full today. Moreover, ferry expeditions are held between Marmaris and Rhodes Island, and these ferries carry more than 100,000 passengers annually," Mengi said, adding that if the total capacity is increased with new investments and the sector is supported with new laws, revenue will also increase.
Authorities agree that apart from cruiser tourism, the growth of water sports and diving tourism have also gained pace for the last few years.
"The development of water sports and diving tourism is rather a positive event for us; this can be a good opportunity to diversify the industry by supplying new blood from different sub-sectors," said Nalbantoğlu, adding that the number of firms engaged in the field is around 300, all of which are officially registered.