Large cruise companies for 2018 and 2019 have turned their routes to Turkey again. The sector has been revamping the return of the giant ships and the administration’s support travel agencies. The decision to return by giant companies of the crusign sector, which uses ships with a capacity of thousands of passengers each, incraeses the ambition of Turkey’s ports. Promotion and lobbying activities carried out for the revival of the sector, dominated by Kuşadası, Istanbul and İzmir ports in Turkey, began to show effect with the start of the season.
It is expected that the MSC, one of the biggest cruiser companies, will add İzmir and Antalya to its stops from 2019, Norwegian Cruise Line will include Kuşadası in 2018, and Holland America Line will stop at Turkish ports from 2010, while the ‘Azamara Journey,’ one of the most luxurious ships of the Royal Caribbean, visited Kuşadası with 850 passengers last month. After the ‘Azamara Journey,’ the Greek cruiser ‘Celestyal Olympia’ docked in the Kuşadası Port with 1,000 passengers. The Kuşadası Port is expected to host 120,000 cruise passengers this year with 140 cruise ship visits.
Administration supports cruisers
With a government decree titled “Supporting the (A) Group Travel Agencies Bringing Tourists to Our Country on Cruise Ships,” which was approved on Dec. 4, 2017 and went into effect on Jan. 1, the (A) group travel agencies are paid USD 45 for every foreign cruise passenger they bring in January, February, March, April, November and December, while the numbers are USD 35 for each tourist brought in May and June and USD 25 in other months.
