According to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News, the Turkish government published in the Official Gazette on September 26 subsidies of $30 per passenger for cruise lines that call at the country with ships carrying more than 750 passengers until December 31.
The aim is to improve cruise passenger numbers visiting the country after the mass withdrawal of port calls following the 2016 attacks. However, the short-term nature of the measure does not seem sufficient, as cruise lines are already planning their 2019 and 2020 itineraries.
From more than 1.8 million passengers in 2015, Türkiye has dropped to just over 200,000 this year.
