The number of cruise ships that arrived in Türkiye in the first two months of the year was recorded at the highest level in the last 13 years, local media reported recently, adding to the momentum observed last year when the ports within the country welcomed record 1.5 million passengers.
Some 23 ships docked at eight Turkish ports in January-February, accommodating 23,047 passengers, according to the data compiled by Demirören News Agency (DHA) from the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.
For the first time, 23 ships arrived at the ports in the stated period, compared to 14 cruisers that visited in the same period last year and only five in 2022 in the wake of the pandemic.
Accordingly, the cruise ships docked at eight different ports in the first two months of the year, with Kuşadası port emerging as the busiest in terms of cruise ship traffic.
Istanbul and Samsun, on the Black Sea coast, welcomed four cruise ships each, while two other northern ports, Trabzon and Amasra, welcomed three cruise ships each.
During the same period, six cruise ships docked at the popular tourist destination Kuşadası in Aydın province. The western provinces of Çanakkale, Izmir, and Muğla received one cruise ship each in the January-February period, according to the official data.
Compared to January and February last year, when some 10,480 visitors came on board 14 cruise ships, an increase of nearly 120% was observed in the number of passengers arriving at Turkish posts. At the same time, there was a 64% rise year-over-year in number of ships.
Looking only at ship data, January and February 2024 marked the highest number of ships arriving in these months since 2015.
Although the number of ships in the first two months of the year exceeded the figures seen in 2011, 2013, and 2015, the number of passengers fell slightly behind.
Moreover, based on the data from the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs, in the 13-year period, the years with the highest number of cruise ships and passengers in January and February were as follows: 15 ships with 28,923 passengers in 2011, 12 ships with 29,474 passengers in 2013, and 22 ships with 22,484 passengers in 2015.
The lowest number of cruise ships arriving at Turkish ports in two-month period was observed in 2020, with a single ship and 823 passengers and a year earlier, with four ships that brought in 564 passengers, according to the data.
The number of cruise ship passengers surged by nearly 50% annually in 2023 compared to the year before to more than 1.5 million, breaking a target set by the sector and officials.
Lively cruise tourism and a boost in arrivals contribute significantly to overall performance in the tourism industry, one of the key pillars of the Turkish economy.
Total foreign arrivals to the country reached nearly 2.3 million in February, compared to the 1.87 million recorded in the same month last year, according to official data. This figure lifted the January-February arrivals by 12% year-over-year to 4.34 million, the Culture and Tourism Ministry data revealed earlier this month.
Last year, Türkiye welcomed 49.2 million foreign holidaymakers, up 10.4% from 2022. Türkiye aims to attract 60 million visitors and generate $60 billion in tourism revenues in 2024.