Taking place for the 15th time this year, CNR Eurasia Boat Show opened its doors to visitors. The exhibition, which welcomes more than 250 world’s giant companies on the 85 thousand square meter area, will display more than 3500 sea vehicles of over 10 thousand brands including megayachts, boats, motorboats, and sailing boats. Affordable sea vehicles await sea enthusiasts at the exhibition which will host visitors by March 1.
Organized by CNR Holding subsidiary, Pozitif Trade Fairs, with the cooperation of DENTUR (Turkish Marine Industry Association) and the support of KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization), 15th International Boat Marine Equipment and Accessories Show – CNR Eurasia Boat Show opened its doors to visitors with the official opening ceremony. Hosted by CNR Holding Chairwoman, Mrs. Ceyda Erem and DENTUR Chairman, Mr. Alparslan Sirkecioğlu, the ceremony took place with the participation of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Mr. Ahmet Misbah Demircan; TIM (Turkish Exporters Assembly) Chairman, Mr. İsmail Gülle; İİB (Ship and Yacht Exporters Association) Chairman, Mr. Cem Seven; Turkish Chamber of Shipping Board Member, Mr. Başaran Bayrak, and industry representatives.
20% increase in the number of international visitors
Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, CNR Holding Executive Member/CEO Mr. Ali Bulut said that the exhibition grew around 20% compared to the percentage last year. Stating that they welcomed more than 120 thousand visitors in 2019, Mr. Bulut said that they aim to reach more than 150 thousand sea enthusiasts this year. Underlining that being a sea lover is not a luxurious hobby as it is assumed, Mr. Bulut stated, “There are reasonable and affordable sea vehicles that can suit for each person. We need to instill sea love to increase the number of boats per person in Turkey, which is the most important function of our exhibition.”Emphasizing that the number of international buyers, who take part in the exhibitions organized by CNR, increases every year, Mr. Bulut expressed, “The number of international visitors was 160 thousand in 2017; it became 225 thousand in 2019. We aim to reach 300 thousand this year. Assuming an exhibition tourist leaves a 2000-dollar income per person, we can understand much more clearly that exhibitions contribute to tourism.
“Marine refers to culture”
During his speech in the ceremony, stating that CNR Eurasia Boat Show is a culture exhibition, DENTUR Chairman, Mr. Alparslan Sirkecioğlu said “Sea and marine refer to culture, passion. However, we have not been able to create this culture in our country. We have failed to absorb the sea tourism as much as other countries in the Mediterranean region have done. We need some regulations to increase our share. While the boat mooring capacity in Mediterranean and Aegean is 600 thousand, the share we receive here is 4 percent. We have the capacity of 80 marinas and 20 thousand boot moorings.” Requesting the VAT rate applied for the industry to be decreased, Mr. Sirkecioğlu added, “The VAT rate for hotel accommodations is 8 percent while it is 18 percent for the yacht tourism. The most important obstacle for our competition is VAT, which we expect to be adjusted. Thus, we believe informality will be also avoided and rather than decreasing, income will grow.
Sea vehicles from 1.000 TL to 40 million TL
Welcoming more than 250 world’s giant companies on the 85 thousand square meter area, the exhibition displays more than 3500 sea vehicles of over 10 thousand brands including megayachts, boats, motorboats, and sailing boats. A wide range of products on equipment, accessories, watersports, and fishing will be showcased at the exhibition, where sea enthusiasts can make their dreams come true with vehicle prices from 1.000 TL to 40 million TL.
The exhibition will be the center of attraction with its events
CNR Eurasia Boat Show will also draw the attention of participants with the Sea Talks event. World-renowned names including Edhem Dirvana, Sir Chay Blyth, Sercio Davi, Tahsin Ceylan, Ayşe Aslı Başak, Hülya Güler, Assoc. Prof. Burcu Özsoy, Mustafa Taviloğlu, and Behzat Şahin will talk about the sea, share their passions and journeys with sea lovers. In addition to the art show, “Palıkhane” by the environmentalist artist, Şinasi Yelkenci, which is made of wastes he collected from the sea, organizations such as DENTUR, Gezgin Korsanlar, and DADD will arrange various events.