The 2nd Marine Vehicles, Equipment and Accessories Fair Artı Boat Show Ankara is preparing to open its doors at the Ankara Altınpark ANFA Fair Center between May 7-11. Yusuf Ziya Karagöz, Chairman of the Turkish Yacht Captains and Employees Association (TYKÇD), said, “Although we have become a world exporter of captains and stewardesses, according to our estimates, nearly half of the population does not know how to swim. In Istanbul, nearly one-fifth of the population has not yet seen the Bosphorus. Our goal is to instill a love of the sea in children.”
The capital Ankara has started the countdown for the million-dollar sea show. The 2nd Marine Vehicles, Equipment and Accessories Fair Artı Boat Show Ankara is preparing to open its doors at the Ankara Altınpark ANFA Fair Center between May 7-11. Supported by the Turkish Yacht Captains and Employees Association (TYKÇD) and Ankara Sailing Club and organized by Artı Fair Organization, 60 participating companies will introduce nearly 250 models to sea lovers at the fair.
“ALMOST HALF OF THE POPULATION DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO SWIM”
Speaking at the press conference held before the fair, Yusuf Ziya Karagöz, President of the Turkish Yacht Captains and Employees Association (TYKÇD), said that almost half of the population of Turkey does not know how to swim, and that approximately one-fifth of the population of Istanbul has not yet seen the Bosphorus. Karagöz made the following statements: “Fairs are very important for the development of our sector. In my opinion, holding a boat fair in Ankara is 10 times more valuable than holding one in Istanbul. Why shouldn’t our children in Ankara and Anatolia become captains? Do we have to be by the sea? Our children living in Anatolia also have the right to love the sea and be sailors. There is no sea in our capital, but we think that 30 percent of the total number of boats in Türkiye are from Ankara.”
“WE ARE A SEA COUNTRY BUT WE ARE NOT SAILORS”
Karagöz, who said that Türkiye has become a country with a say in yacht production and exports in the world, said, “In addition to boat and yacht exports, we export captains and hostesses to the world, but in contrast, the mooring capacity in Türkiye is currently 25 thousand. In Europe, this figure is in the hundreds of thousands. Everything starts with awareness. Fairs are of critical importance here. We think Ankara is the right place. The main purpose is not to buy and sell boats. The main issue is to instill a love of the sea in people. We need to convey to the young generations that our country has a maritime future. Our ministry is also doing serious work for the development of maritime.”
15 THOUSAND SEAFLOVERS WILL MEET IN THE CAPITAL
Arti Boat Show Ankara CEO Murat Arslan said that they are aiming for a total of 15 thousand visitors at the five-day fair. Arslan said, “I would like to thank all our supporters. We have carried out promotional activities in almost all of Anatolia, especially in Ankara. Our main goal is to ensure that Arti Ankara Boat Show makes a commercial contribution of at least 600 million dollars to the boat and motor yacht sector.”
Arslan, who argued that the number of marina investments should increase, said, “If we do not see new marina investments within two years, the maritime sector, which focuses on production and export, will be in serious trouble. Our potential boat buyers ask about the price of the mooring place before the price of the sea vehicle. This is a tragicomic situation. A country surrounded by the sea needs to take action on this situation urgently. Our Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is conducting efficient studies on the subject and is putting in serious effort. We have full faith that these studies will become reality.”
