The cruise industry took a right beating during the covid pandemic, which was similar to the airline industry where pretty much everything was a standstill, so with 299,000 cruise passengers visiting Turkiye within the first five months of 2023, it’s great to hear that this highly popular industry is once again sailing the high seas, and ships are docking in the ports.
It’s even more interesting to read that the official figures released by the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry reveal that passenger numbers were at an increase of 114% when compared to the same period of 2022, and the number of ships also increased by 43.1%.
Having announced the figures, Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu went on to comment that Kusadasi port was actually the most popular destination welcoming 124 ships carrying approximately 157,940 passengers. Galataport welcomed 43 ships with just over 67,000 passengers whilst TDI Sarayburnu dock saw seven ships arriving with 3,276 tourists on-board.
Given that the Summer season isn’t yet in full swing expectations for the remainder of the year are very high, and the prestigious Galataport in Istanbul will play a significant role in trying to ensure that targets are met. Not only has it already transformed the local area into a World Class Port & tourist centre, but it is also able to handle around 25 million tourists per year, of which 1.5 million will come directly from Cruise Ships.
