Cruise lines ‘to return to Turkey this year’

Posted on 16 March, 2018 by Spacejunkie2

Image result for turkish cruise ports

A Busy Cruise port in Turkey

Cruise lines plan a return to Turkey this year following a period of uncertainty due to terrorism and political upheaval.

Ports operator Global Ports Holdings today signalled a possible recovery after reporting a 6.3% slump in overall cruise revenue to $50.3 million last year over 2016.

Earnings [Ebitda] from cruise fell by 12.7% to $32.2 million as the company reported an annual loss of $14.1 million from a profit of $4.4 million the previous year.

This came despite the company’s ports outside Turkey, including Barcelona, Malaga and Valletta, recording 2017 passenger growth of almost 26%

The company’s ports handled more than 2,801 cruise ship calls and 4.1 million passengers.

However, cruise calls to Ege port in Kusadasi in Turkey fell by 53% with passenger numbers down by 66% to 118,954 year-on-year. The company also runs the Turkish ports of Bodrum and Antalya.

“Current trading in our cruise segment in our non-Turkish based ports remains strong. The weakness in Turkish cruise ports is expected to continue into 2018, although passengers and revenue are expected to stabilise compared to the decline experienced in 2017,” GPH said.

“A number of cruise lines have begun to communicate their plans to visit our Turkish ports in 2018, which we see as a good sign of a possible recovery.”

The company added: “Transit passengers recorded a 20.3% increase in 2017, while the expansion of more profitable turnaround passengers was relatively lower at 8%, resulting in two percentage point decrease in the share of turnaround passengers.”

Chairman and co-founder Mehmet Kutman said: “In May 2017 we listed on the London Stock Exchange. Despite the geopolitical challenges in Turkey since then, we have been able to deliver stable revenues and underlying profits, achieve strong operating cash flow and attractive dividends.

“Operating profit was down year on year mainly reflecting the costs of the IPO. Delivering shareholder value remains a key priority for the group as we look to the year ahead.”

Chief executive Emre Sayın added: “Our 2017 financial performance reflects the importance of our diversified business, with robust contributions from our commercial operations and strong performance in our cruise ports outside Turkey, where the geopolitical situation continues to be challenging.

“We are making progress with our strategy set out at the IPO to expand our global footprint of cruise ports, also reducing the significance of Turkey on our overall business.

“M&A [merger and acquisitions] discussions both in and outside Europe are progressing well and we have strengthened our global team as we pursue the next phase of growth. We feel good about 2018 as it starts growing again.”

Crystal replaces Turkey port calls on two cruises

Posted on 19 January, 2016 by Spacejunkie2

Crystal Cruise

Crystal Cruises said it would substitute Greek ports for Turkish ones on two upcoming cruises “in response to ongoing security concerns for travel within Istanbul.”

Revised itineraries for the Crystal Symphony’s April 24 and May 1 voyages will drop calls at Istanbul and Kusadasi.

The April 24 voyage will substitute Souda Bay/Chania (Crete), Hydra, and overnights in Nafplio and Athens/Piraeus, while the May 1 cruise will include Patmos, Rhodes and an overnight in Athens/Piraeus.

Crystal also said that pre-reserved Crystal Adventures in Turkey will automatically be canceled, while the line is in the process of developing new shore excursions.

On Jan. 12, a suicide bomb killed 10 people in Istanbul, mostly German tourists. Before that incident occurred, Disney removed Greece and Turkey calls from a summer 2016 cruise. Last summer, after an attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Celebrity and Costa canceled calls in Turkey.

In Turkey, a world away from nearby unrest

Posted on 21 August, 2014 by Spacejunkie2

By Tom Stieghorst

While in port in Kusadasi, Turkey, on a recent cruise we heard the ezan, as the Islamic call to prayer is known in that country. The sound carried to the balcony of our cruise ship from whatever mosque it had issued from.

It was a reminder that we were in a country where the predominant faith is Islam. The rest of the trip was a reminder of how different each country in the Middle East is for cruise visitors.

Although Turkey shares a common border with both Syria and Iraq, the fighting in those countries was the furthest thing from our minds while in Turkey. We toured ancient ruins, had a delicious lunch out in the countryside and haggled at the shops in Kusadasi for scarves and pants. *TomStieghorst

It wasn’t very evident we were any place where religion plays a special role in daily affairs. More women had their heads covered than was true in our stops in Greece, but many wore colorful wraps, not the dour black garb that can be seen in Afghanistan, to pick another Muslim country often in the news.

Our guide for the day pointed out that Turkey is the only country that sits both in Asia and Europe. Kusadasi is far from the Syrian border and closer to Athens than to Damascus.

It was in touring the Greek and Roman ruins in Ephesus, about 10 miles inland from Kusadasi, where I was most grateful that the Turks have order and peace in the volatile Middle East.

The well-preserved ruins include temples and churches of the Greek, Roman and Christian areas, and are part of a Unesco World Heritage site. They’re the kind of thing endangered by looting and religious intolerance sadly plaguing nearby Syria and Iraq.

For cruise passengers, it is important to make distinctions between countries in the Middle East that are open for tourism and those that are a hazard. The magnificent ancient treasury at Petra, in Jordan, can be reached through a port call at Aqaba, on the Red Sea. It is also a Unesco World Heritage site, and unaffected by the fighting elsewhere in the area.

Turkey, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates — all have lots to offer to the cruise traveler with an interest in history or foreign cultures. Travel agents and their clients should not write off going to these countries because of the unrest in nearby lands.