Begüm Doğulu, CEO of Begüm Yatçılık, which has become a brand by serving in the yacht sector for 35 years, made statements to 7DENİZ.
Begüm Doğulu, one of the sponsors of the Bodrum Boat Show held between October 15-19, stated that all yacht fairs held in Turkey should unite under the Bodrum umbrella, saying, “My desire is for the Bodrum Fair to ensure that other brands, other fairs, charter fairs, and manufacturers unite and become an international fair from now on.”
Emphasizing that she has been in yacht tourism for many years and has been in the same profession for about 35 years, Doğulu said, “I spent 25 years of this in Bodrum. I would like to start by thanking Bodrum and the people of Bodrum for accepting us. Let’s not forget that we came here to start doing business and the local tradesmen and people accepted us. For that, we are very grateful.”
“The biggest fair should be held in Bodrum”
Saying, “A fair has started in the homeland of yacht tourism like Bodrum. This initiative should have happened long ago,” Doğulu noted: “I think that the yacht fairs held in many parts of Turkey should be united in Bodrum. Bodrum should be a meeting point. Even though yacht fairs are held all over Europe, the biggest one is held in Monaco. Monaco is the representative place for yachting. For me, Bodrum is the town that represents yachting. I sincerely wish that the biggest fair would be held in Bodrum, even if there are other side fairs. From the moment I heard that this fair would be held in Bodrum, I contacted the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DTO) and the municipality, and as a person who earns their bread here, I asked what I needed to do, materially and spiritually. Everyone can contribute as much as they can. Even a nail that a colleague who can make a tiny contribution drives here is very valuable. On my own behalf, I fulfilled whatever was requested of me within my means, both materially and spiritually. With great pride, I also exhibited our Turkish-flagged boat, which I built with my own hands over 2 years, here. This money was earned in Bodrum, it should be exhibited in Bodrum. The message I wanted to give here was this: Loyalty to promises, respect, love… These exist in our culture, let’s not forget them. If we unite, we grow. We must be able to be a single fist. To be able to give this message, I contributed to the fair as much as I could.
At the award ceremony organized by the DTO Board of Directors at the Bodrum Boat Show, they honored me by presenting an award. I see this as a beginning. My desire is for the Bodrum Fair to ensure that other brands, other fairs, charter fairs, and manufacturers unite and become an international fair from now on.”
“Sustainability is needed for branding”
Saying, “Nowadays, the most important issue that needs to be taken seriously is sustainability,” Begüm Doğulu continued her words as follows: “Brand value is only possible if there is sustainability. When we go abroad, especially to Europe, whether it’s a store or a shop, it says ‘since 1787 etc.’ on its door for us to understand its value. This shows that it comes from ancestors, grandfathers, and that being a brand value in this trade is the work of many years. In yachting, there is a trend towards Italian brands. When you look at an Italian brand, his grandfather, his great-grandfather were also in this business. It is passed from father to son. This means that sustainability is very important. As long as we continue in this country with the thought of ‘I earned this money today, whatever happens tomorrow,’ we cannot create brand value. If everyone starts doing a job because it makes money, there will be no branding there.
However, there is inflation, there is corruption, quality drops.
I see people with capital from completely unrelated sectors coming; it’s possible. You don’t need to know a business to trade. You put in capital but you put people who know the business in charge. You don’t come and try to manage it yourself. The Turkish boss comes and says, ‘I put in capital, let me check this out’. No, give it to someone who knows the job. It closes down after 2 years, then our reliability abroad decreases.
In this country, it needs to be done by people who have made this their profession, who have dedicated their lives, and there is a need for branding. I am trying to do this. I have been in the yachting business for 35 years, I too could have moved on to other businesses, made different investments, but I gave all my energy to this.”
“We need to provide employment for maritime students”
Also addressing the criticisms directed at her, Begüm Doğulu said:
“People tell me, ‘Ms. Begüm sponsors all the fairs abroad, hosts the opening cocktails, as a Turk she spends money everywhere’. Is this a shame, is it bad? I am turning 56. I am not saying ‘I have no children or family, I can take care of myself with the money I earn’. My children are the 28 thousand students currently studying in maritime faculties. There are 14 maritime faculties, 50 maritime vocational high schools, and 7 maritime colleges. These kids are the children of this country, we need to provide them with employment. For this, we need to be sustainable. That’s why I established an integrated facility to be able to provide jobs for these kids in different fields.”
Emphasizing that getting the Mercedes Benz representation in Turkey was a result of sustainability, Doğulu said, “I put my name on this business. For 35 years with the same name… The reason I want to be so much in the lead role abroad is to tell yacht owners abroad, ‘A Turk dresses like this too, speaks your language, is present in the same areas as you, has the same knowledge and culture,’ and to represent my country in the best way. By repeating it year after year, I have proven Turkey, Turkish quality, and the reliability of Turks once again with every project I do with them, every speech, every fair I attend. I believe I have added value to my country. I am fighting more for our country’s branding than for myself.”
“I don’t believe the sector has been explained to the state”
Underlining that NGOs need to work much more seriously, the CEO of Begüm Yatch said: “I include the DTO in this. Maritime is not just about transport and shipowning. Right now, most of the DTO members are companies and agencies in the south involved in yachting, water sports, diving, etc. When there are so many firms involved in yachting, it should be properly explained to the state. I do not believe the sector has been explained to the state in any way. You can’t get anywhere with 3-5 efforts. You don’t cross an ocean with a single stroke. Let’s not blame the state here either. The state is a mechanism, we need to go and press the right points. I am the Chairman of the Board of the Yacht Tourism Association. I spend all my energy related to yachting on explaining the needs. As an association, we led the way, through serious work with the ministry, for the issuance of the so-called yacht charter license in Turkey to legalize the commercial activities of foreign-flagged yachts. The state also put this into practice. Many of my colleagues were not happy with this. They said, ‘Before, 300 yachts used to come, now 100 come. Ms. Begüm brought this upon us’. We cannot get anywhere by thinking individually. If the state is strong, its citizens will be strong too. A boat with a weekly charter of 2 million euros will come to my country.
The boat owner receives 2 million euros in charter fees, the broker gets 400 thousand euros, and the yacht owner receives 1.6 million euros. There is no tax in this country, they don’t pay, but they pay in their own countries. My country was taking between 3600-4000 euros. For 4 thousand euros, you will earn 2 million euros, is that it? If I, as a citizen of the Republic of Turkey, turn a blind eye to this as well, I would consider myself a traitor to the homeland. Let the country’s right be given. We don’t have VAT charged. These boats say, ‘No license fee is paid abroad.’ Well, but they pay VAT. In Italy, these yachts pay 20%, 400 thousand euros VAT when doing the charter. And that’s per charter. If he pays 150 thousand euros in my country, he can do 4 charters per month. For example, he can earn 8 million euros.
Regarding the VAT on boats and yachts under 24 meters, Doğulu said, “This is for foreign-flagged commercial ones,” adding, “Those under 39 meters are not subject to a license. But those above must get a license from the Ministry of Tourism and make the relevant payments. The 24 meters refers to second-hand ones. GİSBİR, the Yacht Exporters’ Association, they need to sit down with the state and remove many taxes from Turkish commercial yachts to encourage them. VAT for the manufacturer should be 1%.”
“There is no Turkish yacht code, how will you build a Turkish-flagged yacht?”
Doğulu used the expressions: “On Turkish-flagged boats, when I was building last, we couldn’t bring the materials we purchased VAT-free into the country, we couldn’t purchase them. The tax official said ‘the limit has come’ when giving the VAT exemption. The man told me ‘I won’t give a VAT exemption for beds, TVs. Beds and TVs are luxury.’ We are building a super luxury yacht, should it be without a TV? The official says ‘what do I care’.” He continued: “This is the fault of those who cannot explain the issue to the state. We say we became 2nd in the world, but how did we become? We became 2nd in terms of the number of boats. A foreigner comes, has a yacht built with a Cayman Islands flag. There is no Turkish yacht code in Turkey. How will you build a Turkish-flagged yacht in such a country? We made 20 exemption requests from the state. It prolonged the construction and hardship of the yacht. My relations with Rina got tangled. As the duration extended, I had to pay more money. Why can’t they explain it to the state? I ask this to the NGO presidents. You don’t have a yacht code, you can build foreign-flagged boats. Because they are foreign-flagged, you bring the materials from abroad in transit. The designer, engineer, parts are foreign. You are earning from the labor here. This is not Turkey’s pride. Turkey’s pride is to ensure pure and clear rules in maritime.”
Expressing that a Maritime Authority should be established, Begüm Doğulu criticized: “You are doing business with the sea. It involves the Ministries of Interior, Tourism, Agriculture, Environment, Health, Transport, and Commerce. How will you deal with 7 ministries? When the port captain comes for security on the yacht, he says ‘where is this rescue bot?’ The official at the tax office says ‘unnecessary.’ Where should I go for this?”
Underlining that yacht captaincy is a profession, Doğulu said, “Not everyone who gets a license can be a yacht captain. It is necessary to undergo certain trainings. I don’t find it right to give permission to operate a boat so easily. We are experiencing the bitter consequences of this. The port authority spends its time chasing after accidents. As a result of unconscious behavior, people get injured, die. There should be a Maritime Authority, maritime should have a boss.
“In maritime and yachting, we must have either black or white rules,” he said.
“We are in talks with the ministry to make it mandatory for every company to host interns.”
Begüm Doğulu, who stated that she attended DÖDER’s congress at the beginning of the season in Antalya, emphasized the importance of students finding internship places and their post-graduation employment, saying: “I have been invited to many different universities. I gave a speech at Ordu University’s graduation ceremony. Kids from Atatürk, Bilkent, Boğaziçi, İTÜ, and Piri Reis (PRÜ) universities called me to speak. There, I shared my life experiences and gave messages to both the public and them.
DTO says, ‘We opened PRÜ, we trained this many students, we are training.’ What have you done to have the government impose mandatory internships for this many students upon graduation as a quota for firms engaged in maritime? The university was opened, and the kids came. What have you done to provide employment for the kids? Isn’t it a shame that they have to do their mandatory internships by clinging to this or that person, calling them ‘big brother, big sister’?
As an association, we are in talks with Minister Ömer Bolat. To make it mandatory for every firm engaged in maritime, according to their turnover, volume, and size, to host interns… So that these kids can have the opportunity to do internships. This is service. Opening a university is a great service, but also provide employment.
There is no one on yachts who isn’t ‘alaylı’ (trained on the job). Foreigners hesitate to come and board Turkish yachts. But they don’t utilize these kids. Why? They are university graduates, they want work year-round, they want SGK (social security). They will ask for it. Did this kid study easily? They have received their education, built a career. This kid won’t embarrass you. Exceptions do not disprove the rule.”
“Opening a grocery store is easier than opening an agency.”
Stating that they want the Agency Regulation, which will bring the sector under control, to be issued, Doğulu said: “Opening a grocery store is easier than opening an agency. The agency is the country’s gateway to the outside world. Yacht and ship agencies must meet certain criteria. The situation is uncontrollable. There is incredible inflation. A person who stays in an agency for one year opens an agency the next year.
In TURSAB, there are group A-B-C agencies. It says if you are going to do comprehensive tourism, you must be a group A agency. Its requirements are more expensive.
Agencies are saying, ‘Should we die, should we not work?’ Brother, if you don’t have money in your pocket, why are you running an agency? They say it’s a capitalist thought. No, it’s not. This is how it should be. The state should not be governed by this behavior of the citizen.
In Göcek, people have opened agencies for 50 thousand liras. Residence permits have been obtained for foreign nationals. They showed people working on yachts, whoever there was, illegal or not, and got residence permits. The Migration Administration says, ‘I no longer give permits to foreigners, these agencies are fraudsters.’ I am also among the agencies. Am I a fraudster? The state gives a certificate to everyone who pays 50 thousand, and because 70% commit fraud, should I be remembered like this? I have dedicated my life. The state must stop this disgrace.”
7DENİZ
