Kaş Marina to Change Face of Yacht Tourism in Turkey

The Kaş Marina is expected to have a capacity of 472 yachts.

Turkish construction and tourism company Makyol and Setur Marina have joined forces to construct the Kaş Marina, situated at the Kaş town to the west of Antalya in southern Turkey.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Göktuğ Özdemir, the group chief of Makyol Tourism, said Kaş is a town whose roots are in seafaring. “With this investment, Kaş will re-attain its seafarer identity. Plus, with the yacht club, restaurants, sports facilities and shops to be built inside the marina, it will provide a new living space,” Özdemir said. “The tourism dynamics of the town will be reshaped. The marina will also activate the region’s economy thanks to the jobs it will create.”

Üstün Özbey, the general manager of Setur, said the effort might result in “new routes being assessed” alongside the Mediterranean coast. “We will rank among the prestigious and reliable yacht marinas in the Mediterranean,” Özbey said.

Setur Marinas currently operates 28 percent of Turkish marinas and has a capacity of 3,900 yachts.

Makyol had undertaken the construction of Kaş Marina in April 2009. It will operate the marina for 25 years under the build-operate-transfer model. The marina is expected to have a capacity of 472 yachts, with suitable docking locations for super- and mega-yachts.

March 17, 2011
SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News