Turkey breaks August record with nearly 360,000 cruise passengers

Turkey welcomed nearly 360,000 cruise passengers in August, marking a new record for the month, while total cruise arrivals in the first eight months topped 1.4 million.

"The number of cruise passengers arriving at ports in August increased by 16.8% compared to the same month last year, reaching 357,646, breaking a record by reaching the highest number in August," Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a written statement.

Commenting on the data from the General Directorate for Maritime Affairs, Uraloğlu reported that the yearly peak was experienced in cruise tourism in August.

He said the number of cruise ships calling at ports increased by 15.3% compared to the same month last year, reaching 203.

"Thus, August became the month with the highest number of cruise ship arrivals of the year," he added.

Recalling August figures, he also pointed out that from January through August, the number of cruise passengers jumped by 18.4% on an annual basis, totaling nearly 1.42 million.

Also providing information on which ports attracted most passengers and cruisers, Uraloğlu said that Kuşadası Port in western Aydın province led with some 162,316 passengers and 84 cruise ships last month.

Moreover, he reported that 109,453 passengers arrived at Istanbul ports on 41 cruise ships, 27,575 passengers arrived at Bodrum Port on 22 cruise ships, and 58,302 cruise passengers came via other ports on 56 ships.

Kuşadası Port also led total cruise calls and passengers hosted in eight months. It registered 400 cruise visits, while welcoming almost 680,000 passengers, according to the minister.

The cruise industry, as a notable part of the leisure industry, has seen consistent growth in passenger volumes through economic cycles in the past 40 years, excluding the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the State of the Cruise Industry Report 2025 prepared by Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).

With four months left to include in the full 2025 statistics, Turkish tourism representatives are optimistic that the country could attract over 2 million cruise passengers this year.