523 cruise ships arrived at Kuşadası Port in 11 months
In a statement made by the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, it was mentioned that there has been an increase in the number of cruise ships visiting ports during the January-November period of 2023. It was noted that Kuşadası Port was the port with the highest number of visits by ships in 2023, with 523 ships.
In November 2023 alone, Kuşadası Port received 35 cruise ships and 44,495 cruise passengers. Throughout the January-November period of 2023, Kuşadası Port hosted 523 cruise ships and 774,884 cruise passengers. With these figures, Kuşadası Port became the port with the highest number of cruise ship visits and the highest number of cruise passengers.
Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu evaluated the statistics of cruise ships and passengers docking at Turkish ports, as announced by the Directorate General of Maritime. Emphasizing that it has been a dynamic year for cruise tourism, Minister Uraloğlu stated, "Turkey has become a sought-after destination in tourism. The increasing cruise tourism is the biggest indicator of this. There has been a record increase in the number of cruise ships and passengers coming to our ports compared to the previous year."
Minister Uraloğlu shared the following information regarding the number of cruise ships and passengers visiting ports in November of this year and the January-November period:
"In November 2023, the number of cruise ships visiting our ports increased by 39.7% compared to the same month last year, reaching 95. The number of cruise passengers arriving at our ports in November also increased by 59.7% compared to the same month last year, reaching 124,563. In the January-November period of 2023, the number of cruise ships visiting our ports increased by 19.4% compared to the same period last year, reaching 1,167, and the number of cruise passengers arriving at our ports increased by 51.6%, reaching 1,517,933.
Minister Uraloğlu emphasized that the target of 1.5 million cruise passengers for the year 2023 has already been surpassed as of November with 1,517,933 passengers. He also stated, "We expect to reach the targeted number of 1,200 cruise ships by the end of the year."