Turkey executives of the world’s leading cruise companies came together in Kuşadası, Aydın. At the meeting where the expectations for the 2022 tourism season were discussed, it was reported that this year, between 450 and 500 cruises to Kuşadası are expected.
In Kuşadası, one of Turkey’s most important cruise ports, executives of cruise companies that organize voyages to the district held a meeting. Aydın Deputy Hüseyin Yıldız, Kuşadası District Governor Sadettin Yücel, Kuşadası Mayor Ömer Günel, Kuşadası Chamber of Commerce President Serdar Akdoğan, TÜRSAB Aydın Regional Representative Board Chairman Eda Yurtcan, Turkish CEOs of cruise companies Ercan Abitağaoğlu, Burak Caliskan, Özgü Alnıtemiz and sector representatives attended the meeting held at the Kuşadası Chamber of Commerce Conference Hall.
Mayor of Kuşadası Ömer Günel said that they are excitedly waiting for the cruise ships to sail. Günel stated that Kuşadası is one of the most important cruise ports in the Mediterranean. “After the renovation process we started throughout the district and in our touristic markets, we look forward to the tourists who will come to our city by sea and land. In the new tourism season, we want passengers disembarking from cruise ships docking at the port to spend more time in the city center. We will aim to ensure that our foreign guests return to their ship after visiting the new tourism destinations we will create and shopping from our tradesmen.”
Kuşadası will be homeport
Burak Caliskan, Turkey CEO of a cruise company, said, “Our firm will come to Kusadasi for the first time in years. The pandemic process has been a painful experience for all of us. But we came out of this process stronger. We continued our investments by increasing our capacities. MSC Cruises will start using Kuşadası as a ‘home port’ from this season. So there will be ship activities for 12 months. Foreign tourists from different parts of the world will come to Kuşadası and board our ships here. Turkey will be a country where cruise companies have their main offices. It is expected that there will be between 450 and 500 cruises to Kuşadası in 2022”
Kuşadası is a very important port.
Ercan Abitağaoğlu, Turkey CEO of another cruise company, said, “Cruise tourism is unthinkable in the Aegean and Mediterranean Regions without ports in Turkey. In this sense, Kuşadası Port is very important. As a company, we want to show that Kuşadası is not just about the proximity of the Ancient City of Ephesus and the House of Virgin Mary. In this context, we should increase touristic destinations and offer different alternatives to the tourists coming to Kuşadası.
Özgü Alnıtemiz, CEO of another cruise company, stated that they will be in Kuşadası from April 19 until the end of the year, and said,
“We will host guests with high added value. That’s why approaches are so important. As a company, we were already using Kuşadası as a home port. But now we will start using it more intensively.”