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Türkiye welcomed more than 2 million cruise passengers in the first 11 months of 2025, reaching the highest annual performance in its cruise tourism history.
A total of 1,347 cruise ships docked at Turkish ports between January and November, carrying 2.09 million travelers, according to official data from the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.
This represents a notable increase compared to the same period last year, when 1,167 ships brought in 1.85 million passengers. The rise of 180 additional voyages and roughly 243,000 extra passengers underscores Türkiye’s growing appeal as a cruise destination.
Kusadasi, a district in the Aegean province of Aydin, retained its position as Türkiye’s busiest cruise port, hosting 611 ships and close to 990,000 passengers—including 910,000 transit and 78,000 turnaround visitors. The port is on track to close the year, surpassing the 1 million passenger threshold for the first time.
Istanbul followed with 615,000 cruise visitors, including 400,000 transit and 215,000 turnaround passengers. One in every three cruise visitors to Istanbul was a homeport passenger, with the number of homeport passengers more than doubling compared to last year’s 93,851.
Beyond Kusadasi and Istanbul, other ports such as Marmaris, Bodrum, Cesme, Canakkale, Sinop, and Samsun also saw increased traffic, contributing to a more geographically diverse cruise network.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy described the figures as a milestone for the sector, saying Türkiye has now become one of the most preferred countries on international cruise routes.
Ersoy attributed the sector’s momentum to infrastructure improvements and inter-ministerial collaboration, particularly with the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. "Türkiye is now one of the most attractive cruise destinations not only in the Mediterranean, but also globally," Ersoy stated.
As the world’s fourth most-visited country, Türkiye aims to host over 64 million tourists and generate $65 billion in revenue by the end of 2025.
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