Ankara – Türkiye has entered the ranks of the world’s most attractive countries for cruise tourism, reaching record levels in 2025, according to Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
Evaluating the latest figures, Minister Ersoy said that more than 2 million passengers disembarked from 1,347 cruise ships calling at Turkish ports during the January–November period.
“2025 has been a record-breaking year for cruise tourism,” Ersoy said. “Exceeding 2 million passengers shows that Türkiye has become one of the most preferred countries on international cruise routes. The efforts we are carrying out under the Century of Türkiye vision have accelerated high-quality growth in maritime tourism.”
Half of Cruise Traffic Centered in Kuşadası
Ersoy underlined that strengthening port capacities directly affects cruise traffic and emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure in developing port infrastructure.
According to cruise data, Kuşadası became Türkiye’s busiest cruise port, welcoming 611 ships in the first 11 months of the year. With 910,000 transit passengers and 78,000 turnaround (homeport) passengers, the total number of cruise passengers reached nearly 990,000. Kuşadası is expected to close the year with more than 1 million passengers for the first time.
Istanbul Hosts 615,000 Cruise Passengers
Istanbul hosted a total of 615,000 cruise passengers, including 400,000 transit and 215,000 turnaround passengers. The fact that one out of every three cruise passengers arriving in Istanbul is a homeport passenger highlights the city’s strengthening position as a cruise homeport.
The increase in turnaround passengers is particularly notable, rising from 93,851 in the same period last year to 215,000 this year. These figures indicate that Türkiye is gaining strength not only in cruise ship and passenger numbers, but also in the high-revenue homeport segment of cruise tourism.
Cruise Calls Up 180 Percent
In addition to Kuşadası and Istanbul, rising cruise traffic at ports such as Marmaris, Bodrum, Çeşme, Çanakkale, Sinop, and Samsun is geographically expanding Türkiye’s cruise routes.
Nationwide, the number of cruise calls increased by 180 ships, rising from 1,167 to 1,347 compared to the same period last year. Total passenger numbers grew by 243,000, climbing from 1,854,364 to 2,097,363. These figures represent the highest annual performance ever recorded in Türkiye’s cruise tourism history.
Minister Ersoy said efforts to further develop cruise tourism would continue without losing momentum.
“Türkiye is no longer just one of the most attractive cruise destinations in the Mediterranean, but also in the world,” he said. “We will continue our work with determination to make this success sustainable.”
Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök