Kusadasi Coast to Become Marina Hotspot By Mary west BA Boating of all types is becoming an increasingly important sector of the tourist and leisure industry. There is already a chain of marinas on Turkeys west coast stretching from Istanbul in the north to Alanya in the south. Kusadasi currently has the Setur Marina at the northern end of the town. The marina attracts visitors not only from Europe but as far a field as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and of course the Americas. Walking around the marina you will be surprised to see that a large proportion of boats are resisted in North America, mostly in Delaware, these boats are mainly Turkish owned but registered in the USA to avoid paying the Turkish tax. The marina has now added a new feature a 2 meter high fence!!!! This has caused a lot of ill feeling amongst boat owners, who were not consulted prior to its erection. Many people are concerned on a safety basis. There are very few gates which could lead to a serious problem in the event of a fire on a boat. Each boat has only 1 key making it inconvenient if the boat passengers are not all going out at the same time. In many places the fence is very close to the boats making it feel claustrophobic. Boat owners are fed up of visitors making remarks about not feeding the animals! This fence could have adverse affects on the marinas busines. If plans go ahead we will have another luxury marina at the Old Club Med site. This will incorporate a hotel and leisure complex if approved. Guzelcamli has already had plans approved for a new development which will include the current fishing harbor as well as having hotel, restaurants, shops and other leisure facilities. A new ferry service to Samos is also planned. As anyone who owns or uses a boat will tell you, they are a labour intensive item and are constantly needing repairs and maintenance. This can only bode well for the local economy, more jobs will be created for crews for the boats, and better still employment with be created for the skilled workforce already in the area. Competition to attract the vessels should improve standards all round and provide an opportunity to maximize the impact of good advertising and marketing skills. Two towns already in the forefront are Davutlar and Guzelcamli. For a long time in the shadow of there big neighbour Kusadasi, both have started to gear up their infrastructure to welcome a well earned boost to their economy. New wider roads, street lighting, cleaner streets and most of all a big warm welcome. Guzelcamli are building a new marina in the near future that alone will bring more tourists. Its proximity to the national park makes it an ideal starting point for the increasing number of so called green tourists as the park offers a wide variety of eco-friendly pursuits. The small town its self still has a village atmosphere but offers a wide selection of facilities for the visitor. Just outside the town is the famous mystic cave of Zeus where Aphrodite the goddess of beauty is said to have swam. Davutlar has made a start by building a small sheltered anchorage for shallow drafted craft up to around 3 meters in length. It is situated next to the very popular public picnic area at love beach. It is all ready proving very popular and is encouraging more local people to become day boaters. The emphasis on utilizing all types of water craft from the large cruise ships at Kusadasi, charter vessels, privately owned yachts and motor cruisers and small day boats is making the area a Mecca for boats of all types. Along with boats themselves come the spin-off pursuits such as diving, parasailing, speed boat trips, water skiing, fishing trips etc. All these activities help the local economy bringing in money and employment. Given the right marketing strategy the Kusadasi area should become one of the premier boating areas in the Mediterranean.