Cruise passenger arrivals at Turkish ports fell 4.1% in the first nine months of 2026 to about 1.64 million, according to Turizm Databank figures reported on Oct. 14, but the slowdown hides a sharp shift in where ships are calling, with Marmaris and Antalya posting triple-digit growth while Istanbul lost about a fifth of its traffic.
The number of cruise ship calls dropped more steeply than passenger numbers, falling 9.2% from 1,075 in January-September 2025 to 976 this year, a sign that the ships still arriving are carrying more people on average.
Kuşadası still leads, Istanbul slips
Kuşadası, the Aegean resort that serves as the gateway to the ancient city of Ephesus, remained by far the country’s busiest cruise port with about 765,000 passengers, although that was 7.3% fewer than a year earlier. Its proximity to Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary has long made it a fixture on Eastern Mediterranean itineraries.
Istanbul, which hosts ships at the Galataport terminal in the Karaköy district, saw passenger numbers fall 21.2% to around 390,000. The data did not give a reason for the decline.
Southern ports gain ground
The fastest growth came on the southern coast. Marmaris in Muğla province, a yacht and cruise hub facing the Greek island of Rhodes, recorded a 206.7% rise to about 139,000 passengers. Antalya, better known for package holidays than for cruises, posted a 166.8% increase, though from a small base, reaching roughly 26,700 passengers.
İzmir, Türkiye’s third-largest city, also performed strongly, with arrivals up 40.1% to nearly 79,000. Ships calling there give passengers access to the city’s waterfront, the historic Kemeraltı bazaar and day trips to ancient sites such as Pergamon.
Black Sea ports hit by regional war
The picture was bleakest on the Black Sea. Ports including Trabzon, Samsun and Amasra recorded passenger declines ranging between 41% and 80%, which the report attributed to ships being targeted in the Black Sea amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Cruise lines have largely avoided the region since the conflict began, limiting visits to Türkiye’s northern coast.
For travellers, the figures suggest the Aegean and Mediterranean will remain the focus of Türkiye’s cruise market, with Kuşadası, Marmaris and İzmir drawing the bulk of ship calls. Visitors arriving by cruise ship generally do not need a separate visa for short shore excursions organised through their cruise line, but independent travellers should check entry rules for their nationality before going ashore.
Sources
Photo: Roy Egloff / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
