Research Information System
International Interdisciplinary Business-Economics Advancement Conference (IIBA), Florida, United States Of America, 28 March - 02 April 2015, vol.3, pp.130-140
Apart from bringing foreign exchange earnings to the host country and addressing middle
and upper income earners, cruiser tourism is a type of alternative tourism which have been
developing rapidly. Globally speaking, until recent years, Caribbean’s, North America and
South America held the leadership with 40% market share. Mediterranean Region was in
the second ranking with 21% market share. Today, Cruiser Tourism has been increasingly
becoming popular in the new destinations especially in Far East, Poles, Arabian Peninsula,
Black Sea and Mediterranean. Particularly Mediterranean Region is the most favorited one
among these regions. In Mediterranean Region, Turkey is on the fourth rank in Cruiser
Tourism after Spain, Italy and Greece. Salipazari Harbor in Istanbul with its passenger
number of over 600000 in the year of 2011 ranks among the most visited harbors in
Mediterranean. Cruiser passenger number in Turkey has recorded 23% rate of growth in
the last decade which should be considered as a remarkable growth pace. This percentage
also indicates that Turkey has increasingly trended in Cruiser Tourism. This study attempts
to illustrate the current situation of cruiser tourism in Eastern Black Sea Region.
Additionally, it aims to identify the social and economic effects of cruiser tourism on the
tourism of the region in a broad sense.
Keywords: tourism, cruiser tourism, destination, socio-economy, Eastern Black Sea