Croatia and Turkey were named the best destinations for cruise ships in 2009. The countries were declared winners and awarded the "Excellence Cruise Award" by the Spanish news group that specialises in the cruises sector, "Cruises News Media Group".

The "Cruises News Media Group" awards were given on the basis of survey of Spanish cruise ship passengers, who evaluated the ports, the destination and cruise ship companies during their cruise, scoring them on the basis of 14 categories.

In 2009, the prize for best port was won by Venice and Malta, whilst in 2008 the award went to Dubrovnik and Venice. According to the Croatian national statistics office, the number of travellers who visited Croatia on cruise ships has doubled in the last four years, reaching almost a million passengers in 2009.