Türkiye has potential to draw 3 million cruise passengers

ISTANBUL

Türkiye has potential to welcome 3 million cruise passengers annually, said Davut Günaydın, vice president of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), adding that Turkish ports could lure around 300 to 400 cruise ships.

Last year, 1,195 cruise ships and 1.89 million passengers visited Turkish ports.

In the first three months of 2025, 72 cruise ships with nearly 102,000 tourists on board docked at Turkish ports, up from 50 ships and 61,000 passengers in the same period of last year, show the numbers from the Transport Ministry.

According to data from the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), approximately 35 million cruise passengers were recorded worldwide in 2024.

The industry, which has shown annual growth of 7 to 10 percent, is projected to reach between 38 and 40 million passengers in 2025.

Türkiye has made significant infrastructure investments in ports such as Kuşadası, Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Trabzon, Sinop, and Çeşme.

Günaydın expects a significant increase in the number of cruise passengers visiting the country.

“We have ports in İzmir, Kuşadası, Bodrum. And now ships are arriving in [the ports] the Black Sea. This is encouraging,” he said.

Istanbul particularly has an advantageous position for cruise tourism but the heavy traffic in the mega city causes problems, according to Günaydın.

The majority of cruise passengers arriving in Türkiye are from Europe and America, he said.

“Cruise ships also come from Asia and Japan. We have also started welcoming cruise ships from Middle Eastern countries as well,” he added.