Turkey made a solid start to the year in terms of cruise tourism with an increase of 76.1 percent in the number of cruise ships visiting Turkey and a 108 percent increase in the number of tourists in the first quarter of the year.
Cruise tourism with luxurious ships, chosen by high-income people, has grown above the world average in Turkey in recent years. The number of tourists visiting Turkey with cruise ships have increased every year since 2004 except for 2009 due to the global economic crisis. The percentage increase was 15 in 2010 and 18 in 2011 compared to the previous year.
A total of 37 cruise ships visited Turkey in the first quarter and brought 58,329 tourists.
The most popular port was Kusadasi in Turkey’s western Izmir province with 14 cruise ships anchored, followed by Izmir and Istanbul ports.
