Along with the Airline Industry, Cruise Liners and Cruise Companies took an absolute hammering during the pandemic and as a result of Covid, the Industry completely shut down for a period of just under 2 years, however, that is all due to change in 2022 as a successful worldwide vaccine programme and a much better understanding of the virus means restrictions can be lifted and cruise ships can once again sail the seas and the oceans of this world.
The cruise industry has a total valuation of around $60bn and is a vital contributor towards tourism revenues, especially in a country like Turkey which is used to seeing numbers hit around 2 million per year, with over 1600 ships docking in her ports. Early predictions suggest that although numbers probably won’t reach those heights just yet, they should reach around 1.5 million, resulting in revenues of around $1bn.
Galataport was opened in April 2021, and is Turkey’s largest port costing over $1.8bn just to build and it will play a crucial role in hitting those projected forecasts with many companies re-adding Turkish ports into their proposed routes, due to the attraction of the port and it’s city centre style shoreline. More than 500 cruise liners have already put their schedules in place, all of which for now are due to dock into Galataport.
Of course, the more popular the Industry becomes and the more ships that arrive, the busier other docks will get, which should be a welcome boost not only for the ports themselves but also for the businesses that rely on the cruise industry to stay afloat.
