Turkey has seen a huge drop in tourism the past couple of years, due to fears of terrorism. How bad has the impact been on the economy? Via rt.com:
“Revenue from tourism fell 14.3 percent in the final quarter of last year. Bookings for this summer have plunged by 40 percent, while hotel occupancy rates have dropped by more than 50 percent since 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing industry figures. According to the media, hundreds of hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and boutique resorts have been put up for sale.”
The town of Kusadasi, in Southwestern Turkey, has a unique solution to try and lure tourists, though only time will tell if it works. Specifically, the town has gotten their hands on an old Airbus A300, which they’re sinking and using as an artificial diving reef:
“Our goal is to make Kuşadası a centre of diving tourism. Our goal is to protect the underwater life. And with these goals in mind, we have witnessed one of the biggest wrecks in the world,” metropolitan Mayor Ozlem Cercioglu said, adding that he hoped that the creation of the new diving spot will be a big step towards rebooting tourism in the region.
The 54-meter-long Airbus, said to be the biggest plane ever to be turned into an artificial reef, was dismantled in Istanbul in a procedure that started in April.
Here’s a video of the Airbus A300 in the water:
I’ve never gone diving in my life (I’m sort of irrationally scared of bodies of water), so this isn’t for me. But if I were into diving and were an aviation geek, this seems pretty unbeatable. However, if the intent is to create an artificial reef, I suspect this won’t be a quick fix, since presumably it takes a while for the plane to become part of the habitat.
It doesn't take long for a habitat to form. NZ has sunk a retired naval vessel for similar effect.
@Mark;
Whoever thinks Turkey is friend with ISIS is spilling the most stupid, absurd statements of our time, no question about that.
Turkey is the fiercest fighter against ISIS in all world! Lost many soldiers and innocent people on ISIS attacks from Syria or bomb attacks inside Turkey.
Unlike Russia, Syria or Iran who co operate and trade with ISIS, Turkey is trying to rescue the Turkmen and Syrian people of neighbouring region...
@Mark;
Whoever thinks Turkey is friend with ISIS is spilling the most stupid, absurd statements of our time, no question about that.
Turkey is the fiercest fighter against ISIS in all world! Lost many soldiers and innocent people on ISIS attacks from Syria or bomb attacks inside Turkey.
Unlike Russia, Syria or Iran who co operate and trade with ISIS, Turkey is trying to rescue the Turkmen and Syrian people of neighbouring region and conteract the security threats.
US, EU work with a "recognized terrorist organization" in the name of allegedly fighting ISIS. They let them set up tents before the EU parliament in Brussels and talk about fight with terrorism. That is balooney. Just another hypocrite of EU,US..
They bomb down hospitals and civilians who are against Assad regime, than call it ISIS.. They are mostly nowhere near ISIS controlled areas. Turkey has to deal with these monsters alone.
Was in Kuşadası in '13, it does have stunning coastline, and popular port for the tourists, but the beaches do need serious improvement. It's not really a dive destination, but I can understanding why the local government want to keep the tourists visiting Ephesus on the Aegean coast for few more days.
Done a few the wreck dives, includes USAT Liberty in Bali, absolutely stunning. Sinking planes & ships for artificial reef is actually...
Was in Kuşadası in '13, it does have stunning coastline, and popular port for the tourists, but the beaches do need serious improvement. It's not really a dive destination, but I can understanding why the local government want to keep the tourists visiting Ephesus on the Aegean coast for few more days.
Done a few the wreck dives, includes USAT Liberty in Bali, absolutely stunning. Sinking planes & ships for artificial reef is actually very common, even in the states. USNS Vandenberg was sunk couple years ago off key west to create artificial reef for the same purpose.
hmmm...doesn't it take years to form a reef or some type of a marine habitat? Wow - this is forward thinking and sorta hilarious. Not really sure how they can manage this without "hurting" the natural habitat.
They could have asked their ISIS friends to sink a newer model for them for free.
We've had a 737 artificial reef in Vancouver since 2008 and you'd be surprised how quickly life begins to grow on, in and around an artificial reef.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVQ6PYO5ZZI