The giant ship carrying Russian tourists completed its final voyage of the season.
The Astoria Grande Ship, carrying Russian tourists, completed its final voyage of the 2023-2024 tourism season to Amasra with 940 passengers and 420 crew members. The cruise ship, measuring 193 meters in length and 30 meters in width, docked in Amasra, the most favored port for Russian tourists in the Black Sea, in the morning.
Departing from Russia, the Astoria Grande ship arrived in Amasra, a historic and touristic town in Bartın, on its third trip this year with 940 passengers and 420 crew members. The Astori Grande ship, which made 33 trips to Amasra in 2023, brought over 17,000 Russian tourists and more than 10,000 staff to the region during the 2023-2024 tourism season. The ship, completing its third trip this year, made a total of 36 trips in the 2023-2024 season. Tourists arriving in Amasra for the last trip filled the historic streets of the city. Russian tourists explored the natural beauty, historical, and touristic sites of Amasra. Throughout the day, some of the passengers on the ship had the opportunity to visit Bartın city center and Safranbolu in groups. The influx of tourists to Amasra filled the historic streets of the town.
Tourists, having a dream-like day experiencing the unique beauties of Amasra, Bartın, and Safranbolu, expressed that Amasra Harbor was their most favorite place after Istanbul. Amasra Mayor Recai Çakır noted that the number of tourists coming to the town with cruise tourism is increasing day by day. Reminding that the Astoria Grande ship made its last trip of the 2023-2024 season, Mayor Çakır said, "In the last trip, our Astoria Grande ship completed the final voyage of the 2023 program. We were pleased with the visit of the ship with 940 passengers and 420 staff to our town. We also completed last year with 17,000 passengers and 10,000 staff. In this respect, we finished first in the Black Sea and ninth in Turkey. On behalf of Amasra tradesmen and Western Black Sea tourism, we will continue to develop and expand this effort. I believe we will experience more active days."
Surpassing major cities like Samsun, Trabzon, and Ordu Amasra, a favorite destination for Russians, became the most visited port in the Black Sea for cruise tourism last year. With approximately 17,000 visitors, Amasra surpassed major cities in the Black Sea such as Trabzon, Samsun, Ordu, as well as tourism cities like Sinop and Ünye, ranking 9th in Turkey. Mayor Recai Çakır, stating that Russian tourists liked Amasra the most according to satisfaction surveys conducted onboard the ship, said, "The tourism agency operating within the ship conducts satisfaction surveys among passengers. Amasra Harbor is the most liked stop on their journeys. We see this from the data. In terms of the number of passengers we hosted, we are in the first place in the Black Sea. Considering that we compete with ports, including major cities, this is a gratifying situation for Amasra.
The Astoria Grande, completing its last voyage of the season, will suspend operations until the end of April. After dropping off its passengers, the cruise ship is expected to return to Turkey and undergo approximately a 3-month maintenance process in Istanbul. The maintenance is scheduled to be completed by the end of April, and the ship is planned to embark on its first voyage of the 2024-2025 season in April. Mayor Çakır stated, 'The ship will take a break. The plan is for it to make the first voyage of the new season at the end of April.'
The Ukraine-Russia war and the mines suspected to be laid in the Black Sea pose the greatest threat to cruise tourism. Due to the danger of mines, almost all passenger ships have canceled their tours in the Black Sea, putting tourism agencies in a difficult situation. However, the Astoria Grande, the only ship continuing to carry passengers in the Black Sea despite the threat, is still operating its cruises in the region. Once the Ukraine-Russia war ends and the mine threat is completely eliminated, it is expected that cruise tourism in the Black Sea will experience a revival.
After the complete elimination of the threat, the Astoria Grande is preparing to compete with top tourism destinations such as Istanbul, Bodrum, Çeşme, Antalya, Çanakkale, Marmaris, and İzmir in terms of the number of tourists arriving with the ship. Mayor Çakır announced ongoing negotiations with other cruise ships to further increase the number of passengers and expressed that they are preparing for surprises. He mentioned, 'We are in talks with other ships. Our negotiations continue. We are preparing for surprises. With new ships and even more passengers, Amasra will continue to be the tourism center of Western Black Sea and the entire Black Sea region, especially with the end of tensions and wars between Russia and Ukraine.
Developments in yacht tourism are also expected. Action has been taken to construct a more robust port in Amasra to replace the existing yacht harbor damaged by storms and waves. Upon completion of the yacht harbor, significant steps are planned for the development of both cruise and yacht tourism in the region. Mayor Çakır stated that work on rebuilding the yacht harbor will begin shortly, saying, 'In our Amasra Port-Pier area, in addition to our customs passenger pier, we previously had a yacht harbor planned as a floating structure. Due to its inability to withstand the conditions of the Black Sea, we plan to build a yacht harbor using a pile method in its place. We will not only become an important brand in cruise tourism but also in yacht tourism. Construction will start soon.'
Mayor Çakır also mentioned ongoing efforts to extend the stay of tourists coming to the region through both yacht and cruise tourism to 1-2 days by encouraging them to stay and explore Amasra.