The International Tourism Fair (FITUR) 2022 will have as one of its protagonists the new megaproject in Turkey: the 1915 Canakkalethe longest suspension bridge in the worldas reported 20 minutes. This structure, also known as the ‘Dardanelles Bridge’ because it crosses this strait, will be located south of the cities of Lapseki and Gelibolu, just 10 kilometers from the Sea of Marmara.
Its length will be 4,608 meterswhich will become the longest on the planet, and will join the towns of Malkara and Çanakkale, constituting a new option to cross the Strait of Istanbul. This construction is part of the Kinali-Tekirdağ-Çanakkale-Savaştepe road project, which will travel 324 kilometers.
When this road project is completed, it will connect with the Gebze-İzmir road, merging all the rings of the road chain surrounding the Marmara region. This plan will have positive impact on both cultural interaction and trade with European countriesthe Balkans and, above all, Greece and Bulgaria, since the path between the tourist centers of İzmir, Aydın and Antalya with European countries will be shortened, improving tourism.
Benefits for tourism
Another of the consequences that the construction of this bridge and the road project will have will be the decrease in the amount of heavy transit traffic from Istanbul between Europe and Anatolia. This will help fulfill the goal of the Vision 2023 Master Plan, the document of the Turkish national development movement, which was to improve the road network throughout the country.
Finally, not only will this imposing structure, which sets a world record, be presented at FITUR 2022, but also other novelties such as the Maiden’s Tower restoration in Istanbul or the Aegean Tourism Centers Çeşme projectwhich will be responsible for distributing tourism in the Aegean Sea throughout the year.