Tourexpi
Türkiye’s Cruise Passenger Numbers Reach 12-Year High
Türkiye’s cruise tourism sector continues its strong
rebound, recording its highest passenger numbers in 12 years. According to data
from the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry’s Maritime Affairs General
Directorate, more than 1.7 million passengers arrived at Turkish ports between January
and September 2025, marking a 16% rise compared to the same period last year.
Strong growth in ship arrivals and passenger traffic
During the first nine months of 2025, 1,075 cruise
ships called at Türkiye’s ports, up from 917 in the same period of 2024.
Passenger traffic climbed from 1.4 million to 1.7 million, underscoring the
country’s renewed prominence as a key Mediterranean cruise destination.
The last time Türkiye reached similar figures was in 2013,
when the number of cruise passengers also exceeded 1.7 million. After several
years of decline and a sharp drop to just 1,824 passengers during the pandemic
in 2020, cruise tourism has rebounded robustly — surpassing 1 million
passengers again in 2023 and setting new records this year.
Kuşadası and Istanbul lead arrivals
The port of Kuşadası, located on Türkiye’s western
Aegean coast, remained the country’s leading cruise hub, welcoming 493 ships
and 825,647 passengers between January and September 2025.
Istanbul ranked second with 207 ships and 495,186
passengers, followed by Bodrum with 96 ships carrying 117,985 passengers.
Other major destinations included Çeşme (60 ships,
45,863 passengers), Izmir (31 ships, 56,359 passengers), and Marmaris (30
ships, 45,364 passengers), confirming the continued expansion of Türkiye’s
cruise tourism across multiple coastal regions.
Image
Credit: © AA
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