Pandemic Boosts Blue Cruise Market: Turkey Reaches $300 Million
The pandemic has reshaped vacation preferences, with many turning to safer and more private options.
This shift brought a surge in demand for boat and yacht holidays, pushing Turkey’s blue cruise market to $300 million and the overall marine experiences market close to $1 billion.
Private Boat Holidays Became a Top Choice
Baran Yıldırım, CEO of viravira.co—Turkey’s first and only fully online boat rental platform—explained: “After the pandemic, people sought alternative vacation styles, and boat holidays became a top choice for those wanting to avoid crowds. Many experienced the blue cruise concept for the first time this year. The market size has now reached $300 million, and marine experiences overall are approaching $1 billion.”
Over 60% of Licensed Boats Listed
Yıldırım emphasized Turkey’s natural advantage in yacht tourism thanks to its peninsula geography and stunning bays. “Although marine tourism accounts for 20% of total tourism revenue, we’re the only platform operating in this space. Despite the pandemic, we’ve expanded our operations and aim to close the 2020 season with around 60% growth,” he said.
More than 60% of the 1,900 licensed blue cruise boats—both Turkish and foreign-flagged—are listed onviravira.co.. The platform offers access to 11,000 boats across over 900 locations in 41 countries. For the 2021 season, the goal is to raise this share to 80% and surpass 2,000 registered boats in Turkey, including those available for daily rentals.
“We’ll Enable Rentals for All Sea Vehicles”
Commenting on the yacht rental market, Yıldırım added: “We’ve unified a fragmented domestic market under a single, standardized umbrella. Turkey now has a specialized marketplace for marine tourism. Our next goal is to facilitate rentals for all types of sea vehicles and to fully embrace every sea-based experience. We plan to launch most of these new offerings during the 2021 season.”
