Cruise tourism rises from the ashes

is preparing to leave the CRUISE TOURISM effects of the pandemic behind with the spread of vaccination around the world. This year, 21 cruise ships docked at Turkish ports in the first 8 months with a total of 17,000 passengers. Although this still represents a 92.75 percent decrease compared to the same period of pre-pandemic 2019, the industry is hopeful. With the trips set to accelerate in 2022, sector representatives are already expecting more than 600 ships to dock at Turkish ports next year.

•ne of the best years for cruise tourism in Turkey was 2011 with 1,615 ships and 2.2 million passengers. In the following years, the sector maintained an average of 1,500 ships and nearly two million passengers. In 2016, 578 ships visited Turkey bringing in 626,840 passengers. Istanbul’s inability to host cruise ships with the closure of Karakoy Port, as well as terrorist attacks, had an impact on the dramatic decline. Many world-famous cruise companies had removed Turkey from their routes.

With Turkey re-entering those routes, the sector only started to recover in 2019. Turkish ports hosted 344 ships and 300,896 passengers in 2019. While the industry is waiting to return to its former glory, the pandemic has stopped cruise tourism all over the world. With the cessation of cruises, only 5 ships and 1,824 passengers came to Turkey in 2020.

TRIPS WILL INCREASE IN CYCLES

The Chamber of Shipping for Istanbul, Marmara, Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea Regions (IMEAK) Izmir Branch Chairman Yusuf •zturk stated that this season cruise operators made trips between very few ports with a limited number of passengers to test the business in light of health protocols. “Trips in the Mediterranean will increase in cycles with vaccination, according to the projections of the Mediterranean Cruise Ports Association (Medcruise), of which we are a member. •ur ports will get their share from this as well,” he said.

GALATAPORT WILL TRIGGER PORTS OF CALL

The first ship of the season docked at Ege Ports Kusadasi in the past days, •zturk said. “This Turkish-owned ship, named Blue Shapphire, will make 11 more voyages. There is a rule in the industry that if a ship comes to a port, others will follow.”

The entry of Galataport into service will trigger other ports of call, he added, and IMEAK is continuing to promote the industry, •zturk added. He will attend the Miami Cruise Fair in the USA between September 27-30, representing the chamber. The Ministry of Culture will open a booth at the fair and work will be carried out there through the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency.

30% OF GLOBAL CAPACITY BACK IN OPERATION

Global Ports Holding Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director and Ege Ports Kusadasi General Manager Aziz Gungor stated that they have received 650 ship reservations for 2022. Expecting to break the all-time record, there are 130 ship reservations for Kusadasi by the end of the year, Gungor said. “However, these numbers seem a little difficult to achieve. 650 ships for 2022 corresponds to approximately 250,000 tourists. Currently, there are 65 cruise companies operating in the world and 200 ships are expected to enter service by the end of September. That’s about 30% of the world’s capacity. We are still at the early stage,” he noted.

Celestyal Cruises Turkey Director •zgu Alnitemiz stated that a new cruise ship starts sailing every day, and companies are slowly launching their ships. They started in June this year and there were Turkish ports on their routes as usual. “However,” he said, “cruise ships like us but could not call at Turkish ports because of the increase in the number of C•VID -19 cases and the necessity of staying in quarantine for passengers arriving by ship from Greece due to the fact that Turkey is in the red zone in terms of EU countries.”