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Türkiye’s cruise tourism sector hosted nearly 1.5 million passengers between January and August 2025, marking the highest level in the past 12 years, according to the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
"The figure reflects both a steady rise in port calls and an increase in the number of cruises designating Türkiye as their home port, which extends the duration of foreign visitors’ stays in the country," Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said on Wednesday.
According to the figures, cruise calls reached 878 in the first eight months of 2025, up 17% compared with 753 in 2024.
Passenger volume rose 18% year-on-year, following a 56% increase compared with 2023.
"In August alone, we hosted 357,646 passengers, the highest monthly figure in Türkiye’s cruise tourism history," the minister noted.
Alongside major hubs such as Istanbul and Kusadasi, cruise ships are increasingly docking at other coastal cities, including Canakkale, Sinop, Trabzon, Samsun, and Marmaris.
Ersoy pointed to Galataport Istanbul, a redeveloped port complex on the Bosphorus, as a leading center contributing to this rise.
Ersoy emphasized that cruise tourism "not only increases tourism revenue but also contributes to the economies and cultural vitality of our port cities."
He added that investments in port infrastructure by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure played a major role in achieving the current growth.
The minister underlined that Türkiye has become "one of the most attractive cruise destinations not only in the Mediterranean but also globally."
He said the government expects the upward trend to continue under its long-term tourism development vision.
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