Türkiye saw a record number of cruise ships and passengers in the first 11 months of this year, breaking the passenger figure target for 2023 even before the year concluded, a senior official said on Tuesday.

"The number of cruise ships visiting our ports reached 1,167 with an increase of 19.4% compared to the same period last year, and the number of cruise ship passengers reached 1.5 million with an increase of 51.6%," Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in the press release.

Pointing out a lively year in cruise tourism, Uraloğlu said: "Türkiye has become a sought-after destination in tourism. The increasing cruise tourism is the biggest indicator of this. There has been a record increase in the number of cruise ships and passengers arriving at our ports compared to last year."

He said that the 2023 target of 1.5 million cruise passengers has already been achieved as of November, adding that they expect to close the year with 1,200 cruise ships visiting Turkish ports.

In November alone, 95 cruise ships came to Turkish ports, up 39.7% year-over-year, the minister said.

The Aegean resort province of Kuşadası took the lead by hosting 523 ships during the 11 months with some 774,884 cruise passengers, the minister informed.

It was followed by Istanbul's ports, which were preferred by 219 cruise ships and 392,382 cruise passengers, while the Bodrum Port in the eponymous resort town in southwestern Türkiye was visited by 97 cruise ships and 101,159 cruise passengers.