Celestyal/Alnıtemiz: 2025 Will Shine Brightly in Cruising, Just Like 2024!
Foreks - The cruise industry is recovering from the losses of the pandemic, and 2024 has emerged as a year of resurgence for cruising both globally and in our country. Özgü Alnıtemiz, the Director of Celestyal in Turkey, commented on the sector's 2024 performance as follows:
"We are closing 2024 with positive developments both from a sectoral and brand perspective. By the end of November, a total of 1,167 cruise ships have arrived at Turkish ports within 2024. Istanbul, especially with Galataport, has become a significant hub for large cruise ships once again. The total number of cruise passengers arriving at our ports reached 1,854,364. This increase in passenger numbers indicates that significantly larger vessels have come to our country compared to the previous year.
From Celestyal's perspective, we conducted over 100 regular sailings, with the total number of passengers exceeding 100,000, predominantly from American and European markets. Throughout the summer, a Celestyal ship arrived at Kuşadası port three times a week. This resulted in 100,000 cruise passengers entering our ports.
2024 has also been a successful year for outbound passengers. We boarded 20,000 passengers from our ships at Turkish ports, including 12,000 Turkish citizens and the rest being foreign guests. We not only hosted them on our vessels but also offered them the opportunity to explore our country. We organized tours for them to visit nearby regions both before and after their trips, providing accommodation opportunities in our country, thus adding value to the economy. A cruise operation does not only include the cruise tour package. We create value-added programs for every cruise tourist who embarks and disembarks at our ports, thereby contributing to our country's tourism. Thus, 2024 has been a year of gains in this aspect as well."
"Our DNA includes destination and satisfaction" Özgü Alnıtemiz also stated that Celestyal has made significant strides in 2024, adding important destinations like the Arabian Gulf to its program, and that they have opened this route to the Turkish market through package tours including flights:
"Celestyal, which navigated the stagnant period of the pandemic with investment planning, has been reaping the rewards over the last two years. Our fleet has been renewed, with new ships added after extensive renovations. Recently, our Discovery ship was reimagined with additional cabins and balcony suites. Celestyal incorporates enriched experiences, destination-focused motivation, and high satisfaction into its brand DNA, making it a beloved cruise company across all markets and, particularly, in Turkey. We are now transferring our expertise in the Greek Islands to our new routes in the Arabian Gulf and Adriatic programs. We plan to expand the Arabian Gulf program into a 12-month offering in 2025."
Projected passenger count: 2.3 million! Özgü Alnıtemiz shared the sector and brand forecasts for 2025: "By the early booking period we opened in November 2024, we have achieved 50% of our targets. We aim to reach up to 70% by the end of February and March 2025. Our goals for 2025 are to maintain the same figures in the Turkish market as for Celestyal. We anticipate developments in the Turkish cruise market as well. The total projected passenger count is 2.3 million. There is a significant growth expected in the global cruise industry, with total passenger numbers anticipated to reach 40 million. The advantages of cruise travel are being discovered more each day as there are cruise programs available for every season. Awareness of cruising is steadily increasing. Over 80% of those who have traveled on a cruise ship express a desire to travel again. Planning a cruise early is always more advantageous. We recommend our guests to act early to benefit from favorable prices."