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Cruise Tourism in Turkey Makes a Complete Rebound with Over 1 Million Passengers Arriving in 2022

  • 19 January 2023

In a statement released on Thursday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu announced that the number of cruise passengers arriving in Turkey exceeded the 1 million mark in 2022, marking a complete rebound for the crucial industry from the fallout of the pandemic.

According to Karaismailoğlu, a total of 991 cruise ships docked at Turkish ports throughout last year, a significant increase of more than 12 times compared to just 78 that arrived in 2021. The number of cruise passengers reached over 1 million, an increase of 22 times compared to the 45,362 who arrived in the previous year.

The Minister highlighted that in October alone, more cruise ships docked at Turkish ports than in the entire year of 2021. He also noted that Kuşadası on the country's Western shores hosted the most cruise ships at 464 and 493,834 passengers last year. Istanbul's Galataport came in second, chosen as the port of the year, hosting about 220,082 passengers.

Galataport is expected to inject a shot in the arm of the crucial tourism industry that has been plagued by the coronavirus pandemic, and energize cruise travel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. The port has a goal of welcoming 25 million visitors per year, including 1.5 million cruise passengers.

The Minister also highlighted that the northern Black Sea provinces of Sinop, Amasra and Trabzon also saw a significant rebound in cruise tourism. The ports of Amasra and Ünye on the Black Sea hosted cruise ships for the first time. “We will continue to invest in the development of cruise tourism,” Karaismailoğlu added.