Cruise Ports in Turkey: Analysis of Market Structure and Competitiveness

The aim of this study is to analyze the market structure and competitiveness levels of cruise port sector in Turkey. In this context, initially, the cruise tourist movement for the period of 2003-2017 is presented. For the specified time span, “Concentration Analysis (CR3-CR5 )” and “Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)” are used to comprehend the market structure. Then, the competitiveness of regions and cruise ports is analyzed using “Shift-Share Analysis” for 2003-2007, 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 time periods. According to the findings, although the cruise port sector in Turkey has oligopolistic market structure, it has been observed that the competition pressure has increased in recent years. Especially, ？e？me and Bodrum regions are found as rising stars in spite of sharp decline in 2016 and 2017