The number of cruise passengers exceeded one million

The number of cruise passengers visiting Turkish ports increased by 54.1 percent in the 9 months of the year compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 1 million 97 thousand 175.

According to data collection by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, cruise travel remains a favorite of the tourism industry.

In this context, in the January-September period, the number of cruise ships that visited the country’s ports increased by 16.5 percent compared to the same period last year, going from 752 to 876. In the same period, the number of passengers who traveled on these ships increased by 54.1 percent, reaching 1 million 97 thousand 175 of 711 thousand 813.

NUMBER OF VISITORS PER PORT

When the data is evaluated in terms of passengers visiting the ports, the number of passengers arriving at the Kuşadası port increased by 66 percent in the 9 months of this year compared to the previous year and reached 603 thousand 876.

Cruise passengers arriving in Istanbul increased by 48.5 percent to 261.88 in the same period. Bodrum was visited by 70,651, Cesme by 50,898 and Antalya by 19,363 cruise tourists. The total number of passengers who visited other ports was recorded at 91,299.

ISRAEL ROUTES WERE CANCELED

Tourism communication specialist Sarp Özkar stated that in recent years there has been a notable increase in cruise tourism and said that the target of 1.5 million passengers can be reached this year.

Referring to the effects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the sector, Özkar stated that tour operators in Turkey that include Israel in their routes have canceled their existing tours and quotas. Özkar said: “Tour operator managers chose to cancel their trips as a result of a reaction to attacks on civilians that amounted to genocide, rather than knowing that people would not go to Israel under these conditions.” saying.