More cruise ships divert routes from Israel to Turkish ports

İZMİR

More Israel-bound cruise ships are diverting their routes to Turkish ports on the Aegean coasts due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

At least 12 cruise ships will arrive in Turkish ports, according to Yusuf Öztürk, the president of the İzmir Chamber of Maritime Trade.

Cruise operators changed their itineraries after cancelling calls to the Haifa port, Öztürk said, noting that some cruise ships will make a port call to the resort towns of Kuşadası, Marmaris and Bodrum as well as Istanbul.

Some eight cruise ships will bring around 25,000 to 30,000 passengers to İzmir, according to Korhan Bilgin, the chair of the İzmir Cruise and Sea Tourism Association.

“We cannot give a figure for Kuşadası. It is a very busy port with at least two or three ships arriving in the district. How many cruise ships will visit Kuşadası will depend on its capacity,” he said.

According to the latest data from the Transport Ministry, more than 400 cruise ships visited the port of Kuşadası in the January-September period, bringing nearly 604,000 travelers.

Those are ships which cannot dock at the Israeli ports, and they will change their course to the destinations in Egypt, Cyprus and the ports in Türkiye’s south, such as Fethiye, Alanya and Marmaris, Bilgin added.

Bilgin voiced optimism that once those ships arrive in the Turkish ports, some cruise operators may want to add Turkish destinations to their routes in the coming years.

“Not many ships go to the Eastern Mediterranean region. Even if they come, they prefer the ports in Israel and Greek Cyprus. Now, Fethiye, Alanya and Marmaris will receive more ships,” he said.

Cruise traffic at the Marmaris port was weaker this year compared to previous years, according to Bilgin. “But the Kuşadası and Bodrum ports were very busy thanks to the marketing work done by the port operator.”

A total of 876 cruise ships visited Türkiye’s ports in the first nine months of 2023 with more than 1 million passengers.