Karpaz Gate Marina opened on the untouched Karpaz Peninsula in the East Mediterranean as the first modern marina in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus – a relatively unknown cruising destination in an internationally embargoed country. The marina and its management company, Sea-Alliance Group, needed to raise the profile of both the facility and the region as part of a strategy to grow.
The task was twofold: promote a marina with exceptional berthing, leisure and technical facilities suited to all yachts including superyachts, and position North Cyprus as a new and exciting sailing destination for international visitors.
Our team began working with Karpaz Gate Marina in 2012, shortly after it opened – at the time under the Saltwater brand, which is now sits within BLUE. We launched with a boat show PR campaign to mark the marina’s first full season, working alongside the North Cyprus Tourism Centre so that the destination and the marina built recognition together rather than competing for it.
We took full management of the marina’s social channels, with a regular programme of posts keeping local and international audiences informed on events and news, and arranged press visits with tailored itineraries for key media — the most effective way to sell a location few of its target audience had ever seen.
When the marina achieved 5 Gold Anchor status in 2013, we amplified the award to build its reputation among the world’s elite marinas, then sharpened the PR focus onto the crew and superyacht sectors as awareness grew.
Social following and engagement grew sharply under our management, and the marina built a reputation among the world’s elite marinas from a standing start in a region with no international profile. Recognition through TYHA’s Marina of the Year Awards followed, with our social media campaigns helping to gather votes year on year. As awareness grew, the programme moved from broad destination-building to the crew and superyacht audiences closest to the commercial decision — supporting the marina in welcoming a growing number of boats and superyachts as both short-term visitors and long-term berth holders.
