The number of yachts and boats launched in the 3 months of this year in Antalya Free Zone, one of the world’s most important super-luxury yacht centers, has reached 29. Besides super luxury yachts and boats, there are also police and coast guard boats to be used in Turkey, TRNC, and Oman. Faced with high demand this year, companies have had to turn down some orders.
In Antalya Free Zone, 49 of the 88 companies in total are companies producing super luxury yachts and boats. Antalya Free Zone ranks first in Turkey, which is the 3rd in the world after Italy and the Netherlands in the production of super luxury yachts and boats. Antalya, followed by Tuzla and Bodrum, has become the most important yacht manufacturing center in Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean with investments in a travel lift with a capacity of 560 tons, a 300-meter dock, and a ship lift with a yacht capacity of 2000 tons-90 meters, which came into service last year. This year, there is a record demand for yacht orders.
10 yachts are launched per month
Explaining that the yacht industry in the region generated 125 million dollars in revenue last year with the production of 30 luxury yachts and boats, Zeki Gürses, General Manager of Antalya Free Zone Inc. (ASBAŞ), noted that the number of yachts and boats launched in the first 3 months this year has reached 29. Explaining that 20 of them have been delivered to their owners and 9 of them are in the trial process at sea, Gürses explained that the total income of the 20 yachts and boats whose sales have been completed is 29 million dollars.
The revenue reached 1 billion 448 million dollars
Zeki Gürses, stating that the total production of 532 yachts in the region has reached a total length of 10155 meters so far, said that the total income from yacht production has reached 1 billion 448 million dollars. Explaining that the majority of the 20 boats sold this year are military and coast guard boats, Gürses noted that these boats will be used in Turkey, TRNC, and Oman. There are also luxury yachts among those that have been launched and whose trial processes continue.
Stating that there are 58 and 60-meter yachts among the super-luxury yachts under construction in Antalya Free Zone, Gürses stated that their target for the end of this year is to launch at least 60 yachts and boats, and said, “We reached 20 in the first 3 months of the year. There is a lot of activity right now. Demand is very high. After the pandemic, there was an abnormal demand for the yacht industry all over the world. Our companies are turning down many requests because there is no space left.”
Explaining that the excessive demand brought by the change in the pandemic process was added to the pending orders, Gürses said, “With the pandemic, people changed their lifestyles and holiday understanding. They do not want to go into crowded environments and vacationing on their private yachts has come to the fore. Depending on the financial situation, yachts from 15 meters to 90 meters and from 1 million dollars to 100 million dollars can be manufactured in the region according to customer demands.”
There is a high demand for maintenance and repair
Noting that the yachts produced in the region are sent to countries such as the USA, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Senegal, and South Africa, ASBAŞ’s General Manager Gürses said that they have seen serious demand in the field of maintenance and repair in recent years. Stating that 5 yachts were brought for maintenance and repair in 2022, Gürses said, “The number of yachts that have come to maintenance and repair has been 154, 127 of them have been completed and an income of 50 million dollars has been provided. The maintenance and repair processes of 27 of them are in progress.”
