Turkish sector representatives said there has been a growing interest in boat tours while the country’s yacht industry has seen a surge in sales and production during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zeki Gurses, general manager of the Antalya Free Zone (ASBAS), said that 479 yachts, worth 1.27 billion US dollars, were produced in the zone between 2000 and 2019.

But he said the yearly production has doubled due to the continuation of the pandemic, and the zone now aims to produce 49 yachts with a total value of 150 million dollars in 2021.

“By the end of this year, the total number of yachts produced will reach 528, and the total revenue will rise to 1.4 billion dollars,” Gurses was quoted as saying by the Milliyet daily.

The country’s marine importers and yacht manufacturers have recently come together with their potential consumers in a boat show in Istanbul.

“In all over the world, people with a certain amount of savings want to set sails into the sea from land and buy boats,” Yavuz Sipahi, manager of Burla Machine, told Xinhua at the CNR Eurasia Boat Show On The Sea.

Sipahi noted that his company has been trying to meet the need with the products in its stock or through its partnerships abroad.

“We are having a good season,” he added, highlighting the importance of the fair held under the COVID-19 related measures.

“These fairs are places where people and sea lovers meet,” Sipahi said. “We are happy to meet with our customers face to face.”

Safter Marine, a diversified boat building company, took its place at the fair with a series of models “suitable to every budget and need.”

Mehmet Pamuk, sales manager of the company, said people tried to avoid crowded locations and hotels during their holidays amid the pandemic.