Turkey:13 port cruise ship platforms

Turkey has established a "Turkey Cruise Ship Platform" consisting of 13 port cities in an attempt to secure a larger slice of the global tourism pie, as TurkishPress.com reports. The cruise industry is growing, and Turkey needs to grab a larger share of the market, Izmir Chamber of Trade (IZTO) Chair Ekrem Demirtas said at a recent forum. "In 2003, only ships that had lost their way would come to Izmir, but last year Izmir hosted 504,000 cruise tourists," said Demirtas, adding that their goal was for all of Turkey's port cities to achieve the same level of success. He said this was particularly possible since all of Turkey's port cities enjoyed great weather. Among the port cities to be part of the platform are Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Iskenderun, Trabzon, Cesme, Canakkale, Marmaris and Kusadasi, among others. The decision was made at a meeting at IZTO attended by port presidents from the various port cities in Turkey, the chambers of commerce and trade, chambers of sea trade, municipalities and representatives from the governor's offices. He said the new platform, with the representation of members of the Transportation, Maritime and Communication, and Culture and Tourism ministries, would soon take the name of "The Union of Turkish Cruise Ship Ports," following a Cabinet decree. Demirtas also said there was currently no body to oversee that cruise ships docking at Turkish ports received superior service and no marketing or know-how to increase potential. Touching on the construction of a new cruise ship port in Izmir, Demirtas invited investors to take part in the September 7 tender for the port. With the completion of the port, Izmir will be able to host 2 million cruise passengers, Demirtas said. Meanwhile, the president of the Greek Ports Association and president of the Piraeus Port, George Anomeritis said July 3 that Turkey and Greece had to engage in close cooperation with each other in the cruise ship industry. (ANSAmed).