Over 30,000 passengers arrive to Antalya by cruise

Antalya, the popular Mediterranean province in Turkey has played host to more than 30,000 passengers from cruises this season alone, the port operator explained recently.

Huge cruise ships making Antalya a destination

Docking at Antalya last year were some of the huge luxury cruise liners from across the globe including the Seven Seas Explorer, the Spirit of Adventure, the Club Med 2, the Emerald Azzura, the Riviera and the Blue Sapphire. This was reported in a statement released from the operator QTerminals.

The general manager of QTerminals Antalya, Ozgur Sert, explained that in the previous year, only four cruise ships had docked at Antalya, carrying a total of 1,413 passengers. This, he said, was due to the coronavirus pandemic affecting worldwide travel. He continued to say that in comparison, this season a total of 26 cruise ships had docked in Antalya and brought with them 30,641 tourists.

Figures from 2020 and 2021 show huge increase in 2022

Welcoming more than 13 million travellers from abroad between January 1 and November 15 in 2022, the Turkish Riviera resort of Antalya saw an increase of 43% when compared to previous figures from the year before. This is according to data provided by Antalya’s Culture and Tourism Directorate.

Sert reiterated that the high capacity of passengers aboard these cruises helped the port play an important role within the Mediterranean for both domestic and foreign tourists arriving in Turkey

High hopes for 2023

"We are expecting a high density at Antalya Port next year. We have already received many reservations for the 2023 cruise season,” Sert asserted, whilst also emphasising that the resort destination was already more hopeful for the next coming season.

Sert finished by saying: "Tourists arriving at our port make Antalya tradesmen happy. In this regard, we will continue to further increase our contribution to tourism, the driving force of our city's economy."