New cruise liners to set sail for Dubai

The popular Sea Cloud Cruise liners could soon set sail for Dubai shores, as a Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) official confirmed the government body is in early talks with the Hamburg-based company to launch its services here.

The news comes as Italy's Costa Cruises sets up a regional office in the emirate to target Dubai's growing cruise tourism market, which is estimated to grow 77 per cent by 2015.

"We have been approached by a number of cruise companies that are interested in extending their services to Dubai, of which Sea Cloud is simply one of many," Hamad Mohamed bin Mejren, Executive Director, Business Tourism, DTCM, told Emirates Business. "Since the launch of the new Dubai Cruise Terminal earlier this year, we are expecting a 30 per cent growth in business compared to 2009."

Last year saw 87 ships or 261,000 passengers pass through Dubai's Port Rashid Terminal; according to bin Mejren, those numbers are expected to reach 120 ships, or 325,000 passengers in 2010. "By 2015, we are estimating 195 cruise calls or 575,000 passengers to head to our shores," he said. "To achieve this growth, we have invested in our infrastructure by building a state-of-the-art cruise terminal. Alongside, we are also working closely with Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Muscat and Bahrain to offer better port facilities, which will ultimately draw more ships and more tourists to this region."

The long-term strategy includes targeting emerging markets such as China, India and Brazil, along with working closely with Abu Dhabi as it forges ahead with its own aggressive growth plans in the cruise tourism sector.

"In the cruise industry, the more business our neighbours attract, the more effective it is for us," bin Mejren said. "Also, in the case of Abu Dhabi, any competition that exists is healthy for the economy of the UAE."

For the 2009-10 winter season, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority announced traffic of nearly 200,000 passengers, a figure it expects to triple by 2030. However, in comparison, Dubai has already forged ahead in its cruise tourism efforts by becoming a regional hub for Costa Cruises since 2007, along with Germany's Aida Cruises.

The former company even conducted a special naming ceremony for its Costa Deliziosa ship in Dubai, earlier this year, prompting Pier Luigi Foschi, CEO and Chairman of Costa Cruises, to say: "With our four-year-partnership with DTCM, we are boosting our presence in the Gulf by bringing more ships to Dubai. We expect a 40 per cent increase of our guests cruising to Dubai in 2010, with an estimated economic impact of €14 million (Dh68.82m) for the city."

He added: "Costa carried 146,000 passengers to Dubai in the 2009-10 season, and in 2010-11 the number should reach 150,000."

But Costa isn't the only cruise company bullish on Dubai. In an interview with Emirates Business earlier, Royal Caribbean International's Senior Vice-President International, Michael Bayley, also announced the possibility of setting up a hub for the Florida-based company in the emirate.

RCI also revealed plans to set up a Dubai-Mumbai cruise route in 2011, during the cruise line's maiden docking of the ship, Brilliance of the Seas, in Dubai in January.

Bin Mejren stated that RCI's Brilliance of the Seas' seven-night roundtrip sailings from Dubai to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain is one of the most popular routes with tourists.

Talking about the emirate's cruise tourism expansion plans, bin Mejren said: "We have successfully drawn a record number of passengers from Germany, Britain and Italy. The idea now is to expand on that base and target emerging markets such as China, India and South America, specifically Brazil. It is important to focus on those destinations that have daily flight connections with Dubai, to facilitate the tourists."

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.