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The director general of Antalya, the port of the Mediterranean province, has said on that at least 120,000 European tourists would visit Antalya port every season, starting from 2010. In an interview with A.A, Port Akdeniz Antalya director general Efe Hatay said that a new project was launched in an effort to make Antalya a brand in cruise tourism.
Hatay said Port Akdeniz Antalya recently signed an agreement with Europe’s leading cruise line AIDA in order to conduct trips between Antalya port and various European cities starting from 2010.
AIDA determined Antalya as a “hop-on & hop-off” port, Hatay said. “A cruiser with a capacity of 2,400 passengers will conduct 30 trips to Antalya port every season. Every Friday, 2,000 passengers will go aboard the ship, while another 2,000 will leave the cruiser. This will make 120,000 passengers a year.”
Hatay said that such project would contribute remarkably to Turkey’s economy as mainly wealthy European tourists traveled with cruisers. He also said that Europe’s biggest cruiser “Poesea,” which belongs to the cruise line MCS, would arrive at Antalya port on a “trial run” on November 20th. “Antalya has a certain potential in cruise tourism. 40-45 cruisers visit the port every year. Our goal is to increase this figure to 100,” Hatay said.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
