Yalova's digital trade potential
Despite its small area, Yalova leads the country in one field: ornamental plants and cut flowers. A significant share of Türkiye's cut flower production and most of its ornamental plant production comes out of this city; the specialised floriculture organised industrial zone (OSB) gathers that production under one roof in a cluster with no equivalent elsewhere.
The range of production is broad and high in value: alongside carnations and other cut flowers, Yalova is home to the largest orchid grower in Türkiye. Indoor and outdoor ornamental plants, potted plants and nursery stock serve both the domestic landscaping market and export.
Exports are strong and international: Türkiye's ornamental plant and cut flower exports reach dozens of countries, and Yalova is the centre of that trade. Cut flowers, though, are a delicate and seasonal product; cold chain, logistics and timing are decisive in export.
Yalova is also a long-established thermal tourism centre: the Yalova Termal springs, with a history going back thousands of years, create a strong draw for health and leisure tourism. Proximity to İstanbul, Bursa and Kocaeli makes that potential larger still.
Location is a major advantage: Yalova is very close to İstanbul by sea, which is a strong card both for fast flower and plant shipments and for day-trip and weekend tourism.
Yalova's opportunity is to turn this country-leading production and its thermal tourism into value online: taking ornamental plants and cut flowers to the world market through a multilingual B2B setup and visual e-commerce, and moving thermal facilities to a digital presence built around direct bookings. The leadership is there; what is usually missing is digital visibility and brand.