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Invest HatayInvest Hatayby Burç Consulting

Coastal Tourism Development Investment

Hatay's coastline, which has not yet seen heavy tourism investment, offers substantial space for an integrated coastal tourism development combining beach facilities, day-use areas and waterfront dining.

A developed stretch of Mediterranean coastline

While much of Turkey's Mediterranean coast has seen intensive tourism development, Hatay's coastline remains comparatively underdeveloped, offering substantial space for a well-planned, integrated project. A coastal tourism development combining beach club facilities, day-use recreational areas and waterfront restaurants can capture both local weekend demand and the region's gradually recovering tourism sector.

What Project Types Can Be Considered?

  • Beach club with day-use facilities
  • Waterfront dining and recreation complex
  • Integrated coastal resort with multiple amenities
  • Public-private partnership coastal park development

Which Areas Should Be Considered?

The coastline stretching from Samandağ to Arsuz offers the most undeveloped potential, with varying characteristics suited to different concepts along its length.

Licensing and Permit Process

  • Coastal zone usage permit from the relevant coastal authority
  • Tourism business certificate from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism
  • Environmental impact assessment for larger developments
  • Workplace opening and operating permit

Incentive and Support Elements

Region 6 tourism incentives apply, and coastal development projects may access public-private partnership frameworks where public coastal land is involved.

Explore our Tourism Investment Consulting service

Points to Keep in Mind

Coastal land use in Turkey is subject to strict public access and usage regulations; confirming the applicable coastal zone rules for your specific site before investing in design work avoids costly rework.

Sources

From the official data

Coast and Maritime: The Development Agency's 2025 Findings

According to DOĞAKA's 2025 Activity Report, the Madenli Yacht Harbour entered service with the agency's support; under the 2025 CMDP, a capacity-increase and tourism-diversification project for the harbour and the Hatay Surf Centre project were approved. The report also states that “there is no boat/yacht maintenance and repair centre in the region”.

IndicatorValueYearSource
Madenli Yacht Harbour Capacity Increase and Tourism Diversification Project (target: 2 seafood-gastronomy restaurants)Approved in 2025 CMDP; support contract signed2025[1]
Hatay Surf CentreApproved in 2025 CMDP; completion target April 20262025[1]
Samandağ Surf School: earthquake-affected young people trained1,0322025[1]
Boat/yacht maintenance and repair centre (in the region)None exists (report finding)2025[1]
İskenderun Waterfront Improvement (coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change)Under way; part of the agency's “Blue Hatay” vision2025[1]

What does this data mean for an investor?

This table is not demand data but a public body's inventory finding: the absence of a ready boat-maintenance and repair centre in the region is an institutionally recognised gap for marina and boat-maintenance investment. But a “no centre” finding does not show that demand is sufficient; berth numbers, boat numbers and visiting-yacht numbers are not in this source. Public and agency investment at Madenli (see the public investment programme block) builds the infrastructure base; the operating model and occupancy have to be tested by the investor (interpretation).

Limitation: The source is the development agency's own statement about its activities; project completion dates are targets and may slip. The sentence “no centre exists” reflects the period in which the 2025 report was written; whether a private facility has opened since should be checked separately.

Pages related to this data

Sources

  1. [1] DOĞAKA, 2025 Activity Report (data period: 2025)

Hatay Airport: Passenger and Cargo Traffic

According to DHMİ data, Hatay Airport served 288,706 passengers in 2024 and 506,499 in 2025 (+75.4%). In the first eight months of 2026 (provisional data) passenger numbers reached 729,935, +237.3% on the 216,390 of the same period in 2025.

IndicatorValueYearSource
Passengers (domestic + international)288,7062024[1]
Passengers: total · domestic · international506,499 · 478,185 · 28,3142025[1]
Passengers, January–August216,3902025[1]
Passengers, January–August: total · domestic · international (provisional)729,935 · 634,067 · 95,8682026[1]
Aircraft movements2,509 → 3,9072024 → 2025[1]
Aircraft movements, January–August1,882 → 4,8322025 → 2026[1]
Load (baggage + cargo + mail, tonnes)2,701.5 → 5,082.72024 → 2025[1]
Of which cargo (tonnes)19.0 → 48.72024 → 2025[1]

What does this data mean for an investor?

Passengers in the first eight months of 2026 equal 144% of all of 2025: the airport passed the previous year's total in under a year. International passengers were zero at the end of August 2025, 5,245 by the end of September and 28,314 at year-end; in 2026 they reached 95,868 in eight months. The cumulative figures for July and August 2025 are identical (216,390): there are no recorded passengers in August 2025. DHMİ's table does not give the reason; the programme contains runway and apron repair items (TRY 16 billion, 2023–2026), but no causal link between the two is drawn here.

The load item (5,082.7 tonnes) combines baggage, cargo and mail; in 2025 only 48.7 tonnes of it were cargo (1.0%). The airport is thus passenger-driven today; for air-cargo investments (cold chain, e-commerce distribution) current volumes are very low and demand cannot be inferred from these data.

What it means for an investor: the rapid recovery in passenger numbers points to demand being rebuilt for tourism and business-travel services such as hotels, restaurants, car rental and transfers (interpretation). But the data do not say whether passengers are tourists, business travellers or visitors, or how many nights they stay; accommodation investments need a separate demand study.

Limitation: The 2026 figures are DHMİ's “provisional” data and may change. Passenger numbers count arrivals plus departures (one traveller counts twice). Purpose of visit, length of stay and spending are not in this source. No comparison with 2023 or earlier (pre-earthquake) is made here.

Pages related to this data

Sources

  1. [1] DHMİ (State Airports Authority), Airport Statistics: end-December 2025 and end-August 2026 (provisional) tables (data period: 2024–2026)
  2. [2] Hatay Governorship Provincial Planning and Coordination Directorate, Hatay 2026 Investment Programme (data period: 2026)

Figures come from official sources; interpretations are Invest Hatay's own and are not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions about coastal tourism development investment

This depends on the specific parcel's zoning and public access designation; we help you identify suitable sites and confirm usage rights.

Related Investment Opportunities

Maritime, Port & Marina InvestmentsMarina Hotel / Residence InvestmentWater Sports & Cruise Tourism Investment

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