Türkiye's southern and western shores are preparing to welcome an influx of tourists in the upcoming summer season. Kuşadası, a district in western Aydın renowned for its popularity among cruise tourists, is setting its sights on attracting 1 million sea-bound visitors by the season's end. This ambitious target has been fueled by the district's success in hosting 35 large cruise ships since the start of the year, bolstering the morale of local tourism professionals.
In the meantime, tourism experts in the southern Mediterranean province of Antalya's Alanya district, a prime destination for one in every 10 tourists visiting Türkiye, are aiming to receive approximately 2.5 million Russian visitors this year.
Kuşadası, an important destination for cruise tourism known as "floating hotels," continues to attract giant ships to its shores.
Visitors disembarking from these ships, which dock at Ege Port in Kuşadası, have the opportunity to explore the Ancient City of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary in the nearby Selçuk district of Izmir. Others prefer to take advantage of the city's shopping opportunities, making the most of their time in this unique corner of the Aegean.
Ship traffic around the world has been significantly impacted over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the cruise sector is starting to show signs of recovery.
Aziz Güngör, the general manager of Ege Port, recently spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the state of the global cruise industry. According to Güngör, 2019 was an exceptionally strong year for cruise tourism, with 30 million passengers traveling by ship. However, this number dropped to 5 million due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite these challenges, Güngör remains optimistic about the future. He notes that the recovery seen in the sector last year is continuing in 2023, and predicts that the industry will reach 2019 levels soon. In particular, he highlights the Mediterranean market, which is growing in popularity and is expected to take a 20% share of the global cruise market by 2023. This trend bodes well for Türkiye, which is strategically located in the Mediterranean and stands to benefit from increased interest in the region.
Kuşadası remains the most popular port of call for cruise ships visiting Türkiye, according to Güngör.
Last year, half of the 1 million passengers who arrived in the country by cruise disembarked in Kuşadası, he said.
Looking ahead to 2023, Güngör predicts that Kuşadası will welcome approximately 850,000 passengers on around 600 cruises. He believes that the port has the potential to attract millions of passengers in the coming years, with the occupancy rate approaching 90% playing a crucial role in this growth.
Güngör notes that the number of ships arriving in Kuşadası has already increased significantly in 2023, with 35 ships having already docked between Jan. 1 and April 15.
Mediterranean shores
Alanya, nestled between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, is a popular destination for tourists, especially those coming from Russia, attracting one in every 10 visitors to Türkiye. This year, tourism professionals in the district are hoping to welcome approximately 2.5 million Russian visitors.
During the summer months, the population of the district, which is home to almost 400,000 residents, swells to over 700,000 due to the influx of tourists from Europe and Russia. In 2019, more than 4 million visitors flocked to Alanya, but numbers dwindled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, with the global tourism industry recovering, Alanya is once again approaching pre-pandemic levels of visitors.
Burhan Sili, the head of Alanya Touristic Operators Association (ALTID), revealed that Russians make up 30% of the tourists coming to the region.
Sili emphasized that Russians are greatly interested in the region and predicted that the number of Russian tourists this year will be at least as high as last year, if not higher.
However, Sili also noted that the main challenge facing tourism in the region is the low demand during April and May, compared to other regions in Antalya. To address this issue, he suggested increasing product diversity and demand for this period. Sili added that while they are able to fill all beds in the high season, it is important to spread out the demand over a longer period of time to contribute more to city life and the continuation of personnel. He also highlighted that 30% of Antalya's total bed capacity is located in Alanya, and while he is unsure if Antalya will achieve its target of 20 million tourists this year, he anticipates that the numbers will exceed last year's figures at least.
Mehmet Dahaoğlu, vice president of Alanya Tourism Promotion Foundation (ALTAV), meanwhile, emphasized their ambition to exceed the 2019 figures in tourism.
After experiencing setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dahaoğlu said that 2022 gave them hope, and they are now working to achieve their best tourism figures in 2023.
Dahaoğlu said Alanya attracts tourists with its quality service, reasonable price and nature.
Saying that they "are in a position to compete with Spain," a major rival in the Mediterranean, Dahaoğlu noted, "We have very high-quality hotels, very affordable prices."
"I think we will host 7 million Russian guests in Antalya. The share of the tourist coming to Antalya is 35-40% in Alanya. In other words, 2.5 million Russians can come to our district," he said.