Richard Foreign interest along Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline is expected to surge in the next 12 months, thanks to plans to increase capacity and infrastructure at Gazipasa Airport, said property agency Spot Blue International Property in May, adding that the airport was in talks with carriers about new routes from the UK.
Plans to upgrade Gazipasa Airport, located 30 minutes east of Alanya, and increase the number of flights there were confirmed by a representative of the operator TAV Airports in May. Bringing more overseas visitors to the region is expected to grow the appeal of property ownership not only in Alanya, but also in the resorts of Side and Belek, Turkey’s golf hub. Antalya Airport, two hours west of Alanya, is currently the only convenient gateway to the region.
“Alanya, a colourful, growing beach town with a balmy year-round climate, should benefit greatly from the improvements at Gazipasa.” said Julian Walker, director at Spot Blue International Property. “Demand for apartments on one of the resort’s many beachside complexes, especially popular with northern Europeans, is only set to increase and we could see prices creep up.”
The upgrades at Gazipasa include an expansion of the existing terminal to an area of 6,400 square metres, which will increase the number of passengers it can accommodate to 1.5 million passengers from the current 500,000. Complementing this, new boarding and arrival gates will be added to facilitate passenger flow through the airport. In addition, the runway’s apron will double in size, increasing its capacity to six aircraft from the current three, which will mean greater capacity for flights.
Murat Sen, Vice President at TAV Gazipasa Airport, commented: “The works should be finalised by the end of May. It’s very exciting and demand is certainly there. Last year we processed 360,000 passengers, but have a target of 650,000 for 2014. Already this year we have tripled the number of passengers compared to the same period last in 2013.
Airlines currently operating either charter or scheduled flights into Gazipasa include SAS, Finnair, Thomas Cook, SunExpress, Pegasus, Transavia, Corendon, Onur Air, AnadoluJet and turkish_airlines”>Turkish Airlines.
“As an indication of really serious capacity and potential, SunExpress already operates five flights to Gazipasa and SAS operates six, with Finnair and other airlines adding to this,” added Murat Sen. “I am happy to say that interest has finally started to build among carriers from the UK and we have already started receiving contacts of serious intention. Meanwhile, UK fliers can reach Gazipasa via a transfer in Europe or at Istanbul.”
Direct flights from the UK to Antalya and Turkey’s Mediterranean coastline currently include EasyJet, Turkish Airlines, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson Airways.
Homes in Turkey’s Mediterranean region for sale by Spot Blue International Property include a new two-bedroom apartment with shared pool in Alanya and priced €59,000, and a new three-bedroom villa in Belek, close to the world championship golf courses and priced €179,000.
