As we leave behind a season in which we see more giant ships in our ports; The rising star of cruise tourism has left its mark on Travel Turkey Izmir.
The cruise industry, whose star will shine again in 2023 as giant ships turn their route to Turkey, was on the agenda of the 15th Travel Turkey Izmir. The session titled “Rising Value of Tourism: Cruise” brought together the representatives who shape the sector.
In the panel moderated by TÜRSAB İzmir BTK President Kıvanç Meriç, Celestyal Turkey Director and Karavan Turizm Cruise Director Özgü Alnıtemiz explained the changes and developments that the sector has followed in the last 10 years: “We have experienced a lot in the 10-year period; While the sector was growing steadily, we also had lost years for many reasons. 2015 was actually our peak season, with approximately 1.5 million foreign tourists coming. Then, in 2016, the July 15 period, problems caused by geographical conditions, Galataport not being open, and the pandemic period, the sector almost came to a halt. The recovery period after the pandemic has begun. It will reach 1.5 million again by 2023. More ships started to arrive in our country, Galataport was opened and we are close to the previous numbers again. In fact, we are talking about a total of 80 thousand cruise passengers, which is really too little for our country’s potential. There are very few passengers traveling abroad from Turkey by ship; in fact, the cruise industry is still a baby sector. Our efforts are to increase this further and introduce Turkish passengers to cruises. “It should not be forgotten that the development of the cruise line in our country is directly proportional to the ships coming to Turkey.”
“Türkiye is a center of attraction for cruise ships!”
Pointing out that Turkey is a center of attraction in the world cruise industry, Özgü Alnıtemiz said, “A destination without our country having a great geographical advantage is unthinkable. There is no Turkish market in the Mediterranean basin, without Ephesus, without Istanbul. We have all seen that the number of ships coming to Galataport has increased significantly in 2023. A port in Yenikapı has been on the agenda for years. “Türkiye is a hub and a center of attraction in the cruise market,” he said. Stating that 23 percent of their guests come from Izmir, 22 percent from Istanbul, 10 percent from Ankara and the rest from other cities of Anatolia, Özgü Alnıtemiz said, “We are working with the mission of making cruises popular with Turkish guests. During the visa-free period, we took 30 thousand guests on our ships. We closed the following visa years with 12 thousand passengers. 2023 was a year that surprised us, with a growth of 40 percent. We were preferred more due to the high prices in the domestic market. “There is visa convenience on the agenda again, it is possible to reach the old numbers, everything can change,” he said.
“Passengers coming by ship become honorary ambassadors of Turkey”
Costa Turkey Director Ercan Abitağaoğlu drew attention to the value cruise tourism creates for our country as follows: ”4.5 thousand passengers, 1.2 thousand personnel and approximately 6 thousand people visit our ports on ships. Here, they see Turkish culture closely, experience how safe a country Turkey is, and become honorary tourism ambassadors of Turkey when they return to their country. With likes and shares on social media, you enable your country to reach billions of people without paying any money. These data are also increasing exponentially. Wherever there is a sea, there is a cruise ship. And cruise holidays are so popular all over the world that when cruise companies want to have a ship built, an appointment is made 5 years later. This indicates that both the cruise industry and the shipyard industry are growing very rapidly and capacities are increasing. The reason for this is the tremendous demand.” Ercan Abitağaoğlu, noting that Turks’ interest in cruises has increased, said: ‘Fjords and the North Sea are destinations whose popularity is rapidly increasing for Turkish guests. In the winter season, when flight connections are very easy, direct flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Izmir, Antalya and Ankara and reasonable prices increase the demand. The popularity of the Western Mediterranean is still quite high. The 104-day world tour will be our North Pole Iceland tour, which we aim to do in 2025. “Therefore, exploration means cruise travel,” he said.
“20 percent passenger boarding from each port is a great added value!”
TÜRSAB Board Member and Çesa Tourism Director Engin Ceylan gave the following answer to the questions “As the people of Izmir, how much do you benefit from the ships coming to you? Do the local people prefer cruise travel?”: “Our biggest advantage is being close to the sea in the Aegean Region. to be. It is an advantage for us that the ships depart from Izmir and are close to the ports of Kuşadası, Marmaris and Bodrum. After making the first sale, we do not need to explain the subsequent tours; in fact, they tell us; For this package etc. According to the feedback we received from both my own agency and TÜRSAB, cruises are indeed a rising trend. Happy 100th Anniversary of our Republic. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk has a very nice saying: The future is in the skies. The future for us now lies in the seas. There is a considerable tourism movement in our seas. The people of Izmir know cruise tourism and it increases our sales.” The issue of visa facilitation with Greece was also on the agenda of the panel. Engin Ceylan drew attention to the potential created by visa facilitation and the importance of increasing ship traffic: “As TÜRSAB, our meetings with consulates, the processes announced by our President during his visit, and the developing door visa application will bring a great breakthrough to tourism professionals. The official announcement has not come yet, but we expect it to start around April. However, we expect a big explosion. Istanbul is a candidate to be a HUB city with two major airports, a city right in the middle of the east and west. Likewise, with THY increasing its flights to America, American ships have made Istanbul an important port. We expect more than 1500 cruise ships to our ports in 2024. These are very important developments, even if not every port accepts Turkish passengers, it is very important for us that it accepts 20 percent of passengers. Because if we consider the accommodation, eating and shopping before or after, it has a great added value. “We are trying to increase these landings and boardings.”
”Visa facilitation also activates the potential in Anatolia”
Pointing out that cruise tourism is in its infancy in our country, Jolly Tur Outoging & Cruise Director Tolga Tekin pointed out that 2023 is a golden year for cruise tourism and said: “We are trying to explain to our guests what they will experience on the cruise and raise awareness, we are trying to create a 5-star deluxe hotel.” We explain that the hotel actually travels with them and the advantages of this. Yes, there is a conscious audience in cruise, and this group prefers to start with the Greek Islands and then go on longer routes. The age group of the cruise profile was also high in previous years, but this is now changing, we are explaining how easy and advantageous it is to travel with children on board. 2023 has been a year that we can describe as the golden year in international package tours and cruises, much more than we expected. The most important reason for this is prices. We are talking to our hotelier friends in Turkey, unfortunately the prices were quite high this year due to input costs, and it looks like they will be the same next year. Due to these prices, a significant number of people this season preferred to travel abroad and take a cruise, despite having visa problems from time to time. Our plans for 2024 are much broader and much higher; If the visa convenience for the Greek islands becomes clear with the new decision, 2024 may have incredible potential.” Pointing out that there is serious potential in Anatolia, Tolga Tekin said; “We are receiving a huge demand especially from the Balkans. If we add the Greek Islands to this potential, I can say that this wave will affect the whole of Turkey with visa convenience,” he said.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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