Türkiye’s cruise traffic hits first-half record

ANKARA

Türkiye welcomed a record 756,455 cruise passengers in the first half of 2026, the highest January-June total in official data dating back to 2011.

Passenger numbers rose 3.3 percent from the previous first-half record of 732,302 in 2025, according to the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry’s Directorate General of Maritime Affairs.

The total has climbed sharply from 55,817 passengers in the first half of 2022 to 482,925 in 2023 and 574,509 in 2024 as cruise travel recovered from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 488 cruise ships called at Turkish ports during the six-month period.

Kuşadası remained Türkiye’s busiest cruise port by ship calls, receiving 204 vessels. Istanbul ports ranked second with 93 calls, followed by Bodrum with 36, Çeşme with 27 and Marmaris with 20.