Cruise tourism boosts Mediterranean port of Antalya
Monday, October 13, 2008
The Turkish city of Antalya expects more tourists at least 120,000 European tourists by 2010, after their deal with a cruise operator, new reports suggest.
Mediterranean Port Management Company General Manager Efe Hatay told Anatolia news agency AA that the port will launch a new project to establish itself as a brand name in cruise tourism. According to Mr. Hatay, Port Akdeniz Antalya recently signed an agreement with Europe's leading cruise liner, AIDA, for 30 trips per season between the port and various European cities.
Hatay added that due to the deal, cruise liners 2,400 passengers capacity will travel to and from Antalya 30 times every summer season. 2,000 passengers will go aboard the ship every weekend, while another 2,000 will arrive in port and a total of 120,000 passengers a year. He also said that Poesea, which belongs to MCS, Europe's biggest cruise liner would arrive at Port Akdeniz Antalya for a trial run on Nov. 20. These projects are expected to make a significant contribution to Antalya’s economy as mainly wealthy European tourists travel on cruise liners. This should be good news for buy-to-let investors who depend on tourism to generate returns.
In related news, Antalya's container handling capacity also increased this year from the current 65,000 and will further be expanded to handle 85,000 containers. There are plans to increase the capacity to 200,000 containers in the next five years.
Social BookmarkingMediterranean Port Management Company General Manager Efe Hatay told Anatolia news agency AA that the port will launch a new project to establish itself as a brand name in cruise tourism. According to Mr. Hatay, Port Akdeniz Antalya recently signed an agreement with Europe's leading cruise liner, AIDA, for 30 trips per season between the port and various European cities.
Hatay added that due to the deal, cruise liners 2,400 passengers capacity will travel to and from Antalya 30 times every summer season. 2,000 passengers will go aboard the ship every weekend, while another 2,000 will arrive in port and a total of 120,000 passengers a year. He also said that Poesea, which belongs to MCS, Europe's biggest cruise liner would arrive at Port Akdeniz Antalya for a trial run on Nov. 20. These projects are expected to make a significant contribution to Antalya’s economy as mainly wealthy European tourists travel on cruise liners. This should be good news for buy-to-let investors who depend on tourism to generate returns.
In related news, Antalya's container handling capacity also increased this year from the current 65,000 and will further be expanded to handle 85,000 containers. There are plans to increase the capacity to 200,000 containers in the next five years.
