Yacht building becomes lucrative business in Antalya

ANTALYA

The free zone in the southern province of Antalya is one of the global centers of yachts, especially for luxury yacht building, with revenues from such operations amounting to nearly $2 billion in more than two decades. 

Last year alone, a record number of 93 yachts were built and delivered to their owners, according to Zeki Gürses, the general manager of Antalya Free Zone.

There are a total of 88 companies operating within the free zone, and of those establishments, 50 are yacht builders, Gürses said.

The 93 yachts built at the zone were delivered to customers in a wide range of countries, including the United States, Russia, Israel, the Netherlands and Ecuador, he said, adding that 25 yachts arrived at the facilities to receive maintaining services last year.

Between 2000 and the end of February, a total of 705 yachts — some 12,863 meters in length — were built at the zone, generating $1.69 billion in revenues, according to Gürses.

Another $108 million was generated by providing maintenance services over the same period, he noted.

Providing maintenance services also gives a boost to local tourism as the owners of those ships, who are mostly affluent people, spend time in the region until maintenance work is completed, Gürses noted.

“Thanks to the improvement of the infrastructure investments we made in previous years, orders for larger size yachts began to arrive and we made a good start to 2024. This year probably more ships will be delivered compared to 2023,” Gürses said.

The value of the 93 yachts delivered last year was $143 million.

In 2023, Türkiye’s ship and yacht export revenues soared 33.6 percent from the previous year to stand at $1.94 billion, accounting for 0.9 percent of the country’s overall export revenues.

In the first two months of 2024, ship and yacht export revenues soared 334 percent year-on-year to $309 million, according to the data from the Türkiye Exporters’ Assembly (TİM).

Revenues of companies in the free zone will probably be higher as they will build larger and longer ships, according to Gürses.

“We expected some 60 to 70 yachts to be built and delivered to their owners in 2023,” he said.

There was an increase in demand for mid-size, catamaran and hybrid boats in the world, especially after the pandemic period, Gürses noted.

“Companies at the Antalya free zone easily meet such demands. They also build solar-powered boats.”

Gürses also said that 30 of the 88 companies operating in the Antalya Free Zone have foreign capital.

The total exports from the zone were $1.1 billion last year with industrial companies accounting for 96 percent of this amount and the EU countries were the largest export destinations with a 50 percent share, he noted.