According to Turkey’s transportation minister, over 299,000 cruise passengers were welcomed from January to May 2023, marking a remarkable surge of 114% from the previous year.
This growth in cruise tourism was attributed to the successful launch of Istanbul’s new Galataport in Q4 2021, as stated in a release by Abdulkadir Uraloglu.
He added that investments in cruise tourism will persist and that the “Century of Turkey” will be characterized by cruise tourism.
The number of cruise ships docking at Turkey’s ports also increased by 43.1% year-on-year in the first five months of the year.
The Aegean town of Kusadasi hosted 157,940 cruise passengers while 67,740 visited Galataport, 3,276 docked at Istanbul’s TDI Sarayburnu, and 14,777 passengers arrived at Antalya port. (AA)
