Dubbed much more than a cruise port, a modern hub in Istanbul has seen large ships arriving one after the other this year as it enjoys its first summer season while anticipating an even better one in 2023.

Featuring the world's first underground terminal, the state-of-the-art Galataport has welcomed 30 cruise ships so far in 2022, a figure that is expected to reach 200 by the end of the year, according to its executives.

An additional 50 ships are expected to anchor in 2023, lifting the total figure to 250 at the port that has a goal of welcoming 25 million visitors per year, including 1.5 million cruise passengers.

Located in Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood, Galataport is set to inject a shot in the arm of the crucial tourism industry that has been plagued by the coronavirus pandemic and is expected to energize cruise travel from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea.

Cruise ships’ gangways are connected directly to the futuristic underground customs terminal covering an area of 29,000 square meters (312,000 square feet).

Underground airport

Galataport Istanbul Executive Board Member and General Manager Erdem Tavas says three ships can dock at the same time at the port, which has a capacity of 15,000 passengers per day and has a giant parking lot for 2,400 cars.

"You can think of the port with a capacity of 15,000 passengers as an airport serving 45 Boeing aircraft at the same time," Tavas told the Turkish Sabah daily.

"We actually built an airport underground."

Galataport representatives initially had difficulties in explaining the underground port concept, Tavas says.

"We have been to many countries in the world and talked about it. They made me tell them about it for 2.5 hours. Then they stood to reason," he added.

Tavas suggests cruise terminals in cities around the world will transform into concepts that resemble the way Galataport is set up.

"This goes for Venice, Croatia. Since this is a bonded area, it has been an area that no one has been able to visit since the 19th century. We wanted to bring this region together with the people. We have implemented such an innovative solution," he noted.

Up to 90,000 visitors per day

Opened in October of 2021 – a year later than planned due to the pandemic – the port is home to a shopping center, a hotel, cultural venues and many famous restaurant chains.

The project also opened up a 1.2-kilometer (three-quarter-mile) coastline that had been closed to public use for 200 years. The port has been built on a total of 400,000 square meters area, including 250,000 square meters underground.

Tavas says construction was completed in 24 months, adding that 85% of the leasable area has been rented, up from 30% in October.

The $1.7-billion project has turned the historic district into a gastronomy, culture, art and shopping avenue. It feauters 240 retail and food and beverage outlets spread over an area of around 52,000 square meters.

Among others, the Peninsula Hotels brand, which is located in only 10 exclusive locations in the world, is said to have invested a total of 300 million euros (over $315 million) in a hotel that will open at the port in 2023.

Stressing the interest, Tavas says some 70,000 to 90,000 visitors are arriving at the port per day.

Figen Ayan, the chief port officer at Galataport, says U.S. cruise liners are arriving at particularly high capacity.

Stressing that some 170 ships would arrive by the end of the year, Ayan said "50% of these ships will use Istanbul as the main port."

"The Mystique Cruise ship of Ritz-Carlton, one of the world’s leading hotel chains, is arriving in Turkey for the first time in October."