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Amasra, a coastal district of Bartin province on the Black Sea in Türkiye, has drawn sustained cruise traffic since service began in August 2022.
Over 38 months, combined passenger and crew arrivals surpassed 111,000, a figure far exceeding the town center’s population.
The Astoria Grande cruise ship, which sails between Russia and Türkiye, completed its 28th call of the year at noon with 1,075 passengers and 440 crew.
This brought the year’s combined arrivals to 39,069. Since the start of service, 87 total calls have carried 73,962 passengers and 37,860 crew, reaching 111,822 visitors overall.
Amasra’s town center has 6,450 residents, which means cruise arrivals over 38 months amounted to roughly 17 times the local population.
Groups fanned out to Amasra’s historic streets and seafront landmarks, while some joined excursions to Bartin city center.
Others traveled to Safranbolu in Karabuk, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for its well-preserved Ottoman-era urban fabric.
Amasra Mayor Recai Cakir noted that operations are set to expand with a second cruise ship planned to start in April 2026.
He said the town expects new records in Russian visitor numbers once that service begins and underlined that the overall target is to exceed 200,000 combined arrivals in 2026. In his words: “Russian tourists especially love our district. With the second ship starting service in 2026, the number of guests we host through cruise tourism is expected to exceed 200,000."
"In 2026, with two ships, the number of tourists may reach a figure close to the total that came over 38 months. With the Yacht-Marina Port project and the end of the Russia-Ukraine war, the numbers could climb even higher. We are satisfied with Russian tourists, and they are satisfied with us. We have the capacity to host even more guests,” Cakir noted.
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