Nearly 300,000 cruise tourists visit country in 2023

ANKARA

Türkiye welcomed more than 299,000 cruise passengers in the first five months of 2023, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced.

The number of cruise ships docking at Turkish ports during the first five months of 2023 witnessed a significant increase of 43.1 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, Uraloğlu highlighted in a written statement.

Furthermore, the number of cruise passengers rose by an impressive 114 percent in comparison to the same timeframe last year, the minister added.

Uraloğlu underlined the significant growth in cruise tourism, attributing it to the opening of Istanbul Galataport Port and the lifting of COVID measures in the final quarter of 2021.

“We are beginning to see the fruits of our investments in cruise tourism. We hosted more than 299,000 guests at our ports from January to May this year.” he said. “Kuşadası port hosted 157,940 cruise passengers, followed by 67,740 passengers at Galataport, 3,276 passengers at TDI Sarayburnu dock and 14,777 passengers at Antalya port.”

Providing further details on cruise ship visits for the January-May period, Uraloğlu announced that Kuşadası port had become the leading destination for cruise ships, accommodating a total of 124 vessels. Additionally, 43 ships docked at Galataport, 20 ships at Çeşme port and seven ships at TDI Sarayburnu dock.