Ölüdeniz hosts air sports event

The biggest air sports event hosted in Turkey kicked off Wednesday in Ölüdeniz, a popular spot for vacationers and paragliders from all over the world.

Around 400 air sports enthusiasts from 40 countries will be competing in various disciplines in the 10th Ölüdeniz Air Games Festival until Sunday.

Ölüdeniz Mayor Keramettin Yılmaz said the paragliders visiting the resort create a significant buzz. “Most of the tourists coming here get the chance to jump off Mount Babadağ and see the beauty of the region from the sky. Ölüdeniz is a great spot for paragliding,” said Yılmaz, adding that the municipality would promote the air games in international tourism fairs.

Kadri Tuğlu, the organizer of the event, said the Ölüdeniz Air Games Festival was the second-best air sports event in the world, following the one in France. “The festival helps expand the tourism season of Ölüdeniz,” he added. “October is the best time for the event, as there are no other organizations all around the world. The weather conditions at this time are great, that is why hundreds of paragliders have flocked to Turkey”

Tuğlu said fee reductions on flights departing from Babadağ have had a positive affect on one-person flights. “One tourist who comes to experience paragliding in Ölüdeniz spends four times the amount of money than the average tourist,” he said. “Paragliding should be supported in scope of projects for alternative tourism.”

More than 3,000 people, including athletes, their families and friends, are in Ölüdeniz for the festival and those who do not compete at the event can enjoy the parties on the beach.

The main event at the festival will be paragliding, but participants can expect demonstrations in skydiving, base jumping, hangliding, para-motor flights, remote control plane shows, microlites, acrobatic competitions and accuracy landing competitions.

For the third year running the Turkish Stars, the only aerobatic team performing displayed with eight supersonic NF-5 aircrafts, will be taking part in the festival.