Figen Ayan

Founder

Figen Ayan has spent more than 30 years building cruise destinations from the ground up, developing six cruise ports across three countries. As Chief Port Officer of Galataport Istanbul, she delivered the world's first underground cruise terminal within a $1.7bn waterfront regeneration, growing the city's homeport share from 13% to 58% and returning 1.2 km of shoreline to the public, aligning over 500 stakeholders and 60 government bodies. As President of MedCruise, she led the world's largest cruise port association — more than 150 ports across 22 countries, including Saudi Arabia's — and brought the Red Sea into the front row of the global cruise industry. Through Ayan Consulting, she advises governments, ports, destinations and ultra-luxury cruise lines, and is a European Commission Expert to the Mission "Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030.