A different concept and
With a different approach, a brand new marina concept has been realized since 2015.
Viaport Marina hosted more than 50 million visitors in 4 years. Marina
also draws attention with the technical services it provides to boats: The new target is the world's
to be the largest refit center.
Entertainment center aquarium, theme park, marina, shopping and tourism Viaport Marina, which incorporates Viaport Marina, has a visual design and attracts attention with its advantages. Viaport Marina, organized by while providing visitors with the opportunity to have a good time with social activities, also made a name for itself with the technical services it provides for the boats staying in the marina. successfully. Refit of yachts up to 50 meters at Viaport Marina operations are carried out on land, while all kinds of yachts up to 100 meters needs can be easily met at sea. The marina also has a new It is also increasing its capacity day by day with investments. Via Properties Management Coşkun Bayraktar, Chairman of the Board of Coşkun Bayraktar, said that they are becoming one of the world's leading refit centers. investments and works are continuing on the road. In the past 4 years With more than 50 million visitors, Viaport Marina and the sector Answering our questions, Bayraktar said that Via Properties is a maritime evaluated its approach to investments.
As VIA Group Your marina investment started in 2015, today Viaport Marina is a shopping center. center concept as well. What was your vision at the start of the investment and how do you evaluate today?
Our priority as a group is the retail sector. So we invest more in retail. We actually prioritized this in our marina project. If you look at other marinas, you will see that they mostly serve boat owners and are disconnected from the public. In our Viaport Marina project, we planned to change this a bit. Not just a marina, not just retail; entertainment, aquarium, retail and marina are intertwined... When we started the project, we thought of combining many things and I think we have achieved this today. This project has taken Tuzla to another place. In 2019, we brought over 15 million visitors to Tuzla, and over 50 million visitors since we opened. Many of these people have never seen a marina in their lives, never had anything to do with a marina. Therefore, we can say that our concept, which is intertwined with the public and combines many activities, gave the result we wanted.
The future of the project how do you see it?
Viaport Marina project is one of the most beautiful projects in Turkey. This is one of the most and it is also registered on the ground. I want to say the most beautiful project When we look at the number of visitors, we see that the public also appreciates this. Remains... which is unparalleled in the world as a visual show. We, 15 million people came, we spent 4 years We say we have left it behind, but I think it is still a baby and it still has a long way to go. we have. In a few years, we will become a place that the world is interested in. I think last year 50,000 tourists came to the marina, this year 100,000. more tourists than ever before. In this way, exponentially increasing visitor we will be at a very different point in a few years with our audience. we foresee. We entered this sector and realized a very nice project. We have a very nice project We passed and made a project we can be proud of. We are very happy about this. This The project opened new doors for us. With this project, we will develop maritime We have organized very good fairs and these fairs will continue to grow. we wish it to continue. We will continue our project and fairs until the end. we are behind it. As long as the sector is behind these fairs, we will continue to grow. We will.
In Marina You also have investments in refit and maintenance services, what about them? would you say?
Yachts want to receive refit and maintenance services at the marina. We saw this need and made investments to provide these services. We have 2 travel lifts with 75 tons capacity and 300 tons capacity. We can take yachts up to 50 meters on land and provide services easily. We are in a position to respond to every need of yachts up to 100 meters in water maintenance. There are very few marinas in Turkey that can provide these conditions. Our goal is to reach the equipment to take yachts up to 100 meters ashore. We are working on building one of the largest refit centers in the world and we will do it. Another advantage we have is our location. Our location is Tuzla! We are right at the heart of this business. Therefore, we have a long way to go in this sense.
New to the sector As an investor who entered the maritime sector at a date that can be considered how do you evaluate it?
Our entry into the sector is very new, but I am sorry to say that I want, Turkey is far, far behind where it should be. We are in Europe quality production at Chinese prices. These two factors make us to the center of the world. We have been building an international brand we have not been able to create a world brand. We may have done great things as a boutique, but we are a world brand. It's another thing to be Italian, French They have the means to go much further than their brands. Today in Europe labor is the most difficult issue in the world. But they are still more advanced than us. The sector needs to put forward this vision, reinterpret the vision and mission, and plan because we have the potential to do it. Because we have the potential to do this. Creative production we are at a level to compete with European producers. In terms of labor, our We have both manpower, knowledge and experience. What remains is the visionary investor and they stay. If they are still ahead of us today in these conditions, you can be sure that they they can do it, we can't do the easy stuff.
In the past years you had a project on houseboats and you presented an example of this in October 2019. We saw you at the fair organized at Viaport Marina in May. At what stage is the project? Targeted What is it? Can you tell us briefly?
In fact, this is a very visionary project. When you build the houses in this project one by one, they are very radical, but if you deploy 50-100 of them in one area, you create a life at sea. Of course, it was not very easy to develop. You saw the prototype of the project at the fair. We are also in talks with marinas in Europe about this. We aim to create a living center with floating houses. In addition, we are planning floating boutique hotels. When it is on its own, it is very radical and it is not easy for people to say "I will buy this and stay here". We are working on the project in detail and trying to come up with a story.
I don't want you to go to Istanbul your joint work with agencies on transporting incoming tourists to the marina in the past years. Will these activities continue?
Istanbul has actually been receiving a lot of tourists and arrivals in recent years. a city where tourists create added value. Viaport Marina with its theme park, with its lion park, entertainment areas, shopping center and visual show is on its way to becoming a tourist attraction. Last year, a very significant number of We have succeeded in bringing tourists to the marina and we expect this number to increase next year. we foresee. Many agencies bring us tourists in this sense. These tourists and there are different ways to get here. By sea, by land and We have transportation possibilities both by rail via Marmaray.
Last but not least, the sector Do you have a message you want to give?
As I mentioned before, the Turkish maritime sector I think that this sector needs to be given a new vision. I think it should be at advanced levels and I believe we deserve it. I believe. Are we at this level? Of course we are not. For us to get to that level. I think our sector representatives and investors have a lot of work to do. I believe that Turkey should produce very good brands. In the process, Turkey has become one of the world's most renowned companies, which has made a name for itself worldwide. I look forward to seeing past brands. And the people of this country have the power to achieve this, this country deserves it. It does.
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