Istanbul’s Galataport named port of the year

ISTANBUL

Galataport in the metropolitan city of Istanbul is the “port of the year” as per the Seatrade Cruise Awards, the cruise industry’s premier award organization.

Spanning a 1.2-kilometer coastline along the Bosphorus, Galataport, which features the world’s first underground cruise ship terminal and revitalizes one of the most prominent historical districts of the city, added another award to its roster of accolades.

Galataport won “port of the year” category at the 2022 Seatrade Cruise Awards, held during Seatrade Cruise Med, the premier cruise trade event on Sept. 14 and 15 in Malaga, Spain.

Galataport’s innovative approach and innovations applied to operational processes, globally regarded as exemplary, were some of the factors that brought home the prestigious award for which many ports, including major U.S. and the U.K. competed.

“It is a great source of pride for us to receive the ‘port of the year’ award at the Seatrade Cruise Awards, one of the most prestigious awards in the industry, exactly one year after we started our operations,” said Figen Ayan, Galataport’s deputy general manager and the head of MedCruise, the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports.

“We, as Galataport Istanbul, are very happy that our groundbreaking works in the sector and the innovations we have brought operationally have been rewarded in the international arena.”

The team representing Galataport at the event where more than 2,000 participants from 70 countries took part, came together with the leading names in the industry with many sessions and meetings held over two days.

Meanwhile, the cruise ship named Fantasia docked at Galataport with its 3,500 passengers and 1,200 crew.

The 18-floor ship offers various services to its passengers, from playgrounds to pools, from entertainment venues to show centers.

The ship has a total capacity of 5,300 passengers, including the crew.

Galataport as a cruise ship port and mixed-use property unit, which cost $1.8 billion, was opened in April 2021, after a year’s postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 376,924 international tourists have visited Türkiye on cruise liners in the first seven months of this year, with the Aegean tourism hub Kuşadası hosting the most cruise passengers with some 212,000, the Turkish General Directorate of Maritime Affairs has declared.

According to a statement announced on Aug. 10 by the institution, four cruise liners with 1,433 passengers visited Türkiye in January. Some 343 cruise passengers arrived in the country, 270 departed and some 820 were transit cruise passengers.