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Istanbul considers revamping docks to boost Cruise Tourism

Maritime authorities are planning to prepare three Istanbul wharfs to dock cruise ships in a bid to boost Cruise Tourism in the city. Turkey stands fourth in Mediterranean cruise ship tourism, coming in after Spain, Italy and Greece. However, the number of cruise ships stopping in Istanbul has risen 15 to 20 per cent annually for the past five years. According to Turkish daily ‘Today's Zaman’, tourism operators in the city say cruises have brought one million tourists to Istanbul since 2006, but a lack of sufficient facilities for cruise ships is a restraint on this area of potential tourism growth. New docks must be built immediately to solve this problem, said the tourism operators.

Currently, the docks at Sal pazar and Karakoy are used for cruise ships, and officials from the Turkish Maritime Enterprises Corporation say they are considering devoting the docks at Kurucesme, Haydarpasa and Sarayburnu to cruise ships as well. “Out of these three (potential new docks) Sarayburnu is the most appropriate. We are aiming to (prepare the conversion of the dock) in time for the start of the new (cruise) season in May 2009. Istanbul needs seven to eight more such docks,” said an official.

More than 1,000 cruise ships stop at Kusadasi and Istanbul every year. In 2005, 227 cruise ships berthing in Istanbul brought along 231,000 tourists, and these numbers reached 340 ships and 432,000 tourists by 2007. A Emre Bilgili, Regional Director, Istanbul Culture and Tourism said that tourists travelling by boat exchange more money and account for 12 per cent of all tourists to Turkey.

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