Cruise industry eyes record number of passengers in 2025
ISTANBUL

The Turkish cruise industry aims for further growth this year by focusing on sustainability and technological transformation, hoping to welcome more than 2 million passengers.
Even though, the Transport Ministry has not yet unveiled data for 2024, it is estimated that over 1.9 million cruise passengers visited Türkiye last year, an all-time high.
"The year 2024 was one of recovery and resurgence for the cruise industry," Burak Çalışkan, general manager of GemiTrend.com, told state-run Anadolu Agency.
Travel habits returned to normalcy after the COVID-19 outbreak and the increase in demand made Mediterranean and Aegean destinations attractive, he said, adding that interest in Türkiye also revived.
“Türkiye has strengthened its competitiveness in the sector. In 2025 and beyond, we expect this momentum to continue,” Çalıkşan said.
In the 2025 season sustainable tourism and environmentally friendly ship technologies will come to the fore, according to Çalışkan.
Adding new destinations to the routes, increasing existing port capacities and international promotional activities are among the main targets of the sector, he said.
Cruise tourism will gain momentum by prioritizing sustainability, technological transformation and customer experience, Çalışkan added.
The number of domestic tourists choosing a cruise vacation from Turkey is expected to increase by at least 60 percent, said Ercan Abitağaoğlu, general manager of Costa Cruises Türkiye.
The industry forecasts a 20 percent increase in the number of ships arriving at Turkish ports and a 30 percent rise in the number of passengers, with the arrival of larger ships anticipated, according to Abitağaoğlu.
“Expectations are running high for 2025 and 2026,” he said.