Galataport İstanbul’s Port Operations Deputy General Manager Figen Ayan stated that they have hosted more than 120 cruise ships since they entered service in 2021 and that they are planning to have 450 thousand passengers, including 150 ships and crew, by the end of this year. Ayan, the successful name of the industry who has the title of the first Turkish president of MedCruise Union, which represents 145 cruise ports in the Mediterranean basin, continued her statements as follows:
“Next year we will host 250 ships”
Making statements to the world, Ayan said, “150 ships correspond to a total of 450 thousand passengers until the end of the year. Next year is extremely hopeful for us. We will host 250 ships. It is useful to explain the following point here, you can also be a transit port here. What does that mean? The ship arrives for a day and leaves after visiting the historical peninsula. The important point here is to position this place as the main port. Why? Because when you are at the main port, you start and end your journey from this point. You use the airport and airline company, stay longer, and organically touch more sectors. You are creating an ecosystem here.”
“Tourists who come by cruise spend more”
Pointing out that the tourists who come by cruise spend more, Ayan said, “When we took over this place, only 13% of the cruises were using Karaköy as their main port. The ships were much smaller. Currently, 50% of the 150 voyages use Galataport as their main port. In addition, a tourist coming to Türkiye outside of the cruise sector spends 62 dollars a day, while a cruise passenger spends 400 dollars a day. There is also the crew, which no one knows or thinks about, which is actually the ‘iceberg’ of this industry. When the ship of 3 thousand people arrives, it has a crew of 1,200 people. This crew spends 70 dollars a day. We care about the crew as much as the passengers. We provide them with free WiFi in our port, we offer discounted shopping in stores. Most importantly, we provide an opportunity for them to use the entire port, instead of keeping them in a certain area.”
“MSC will use Galataport as the main port”
Explaining that MSC, one of the giant brands of the sector, will increase the number of voyages to Galataport from 3 this year, to 23 next year and that the company also targets Turkish passengers, Ayan said, “They will enable Turkish passengers to travel with their ships, they will use this place as their main port. For this, they prepare all kinds of promotions. They positioned this place as a source market.”
“We will implement this in 2024”
Stating that the industry’s giant Royal Caribbean will also make 8 voyages to Galataport in 2023, Ayan said, “We are currently talking about 2025 with companies in reservations. In this sector, reservations are always talked about 2 years in advance. We are doing very well in Galataport. Our goals are to serve 1.5 million passengers plus crew. I am ambitious, we will implement this in 2024. The number of expeditions will be 400-450.”
“Diversity matters”
Ayan pointed out that the important thing in port management is the number of passengers and the portfolio created by the ship companies served, and said: “I look at diversity. We have served 43 maritime companies. Istanbul is such a rich destination that I would like to address the ship companies that take a thousand euros from their passengers and bring them here and those who buy 10 thousand euros. Just as we opened Galataport to the cruise sector as well as to the public, we embraced everyone, I want to implement this in the tourism sector as well.”
