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28 March 2024

Dubai sets sail for cruise industry

Published
By Bindu Suresh Rai

Its full speed ahead for Dubai as it sets sail for a bullish cruise tourism sector that has chartered a course to generate more than Dh1 billion in annual income by 2020.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7 onboard the maiden call of Royal Caribbean International’s Mariner of the Seas to the emirate, Director of Cruise Tourism, Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said: “We are still very much on course for the cruise tourism sector to grow to Dh840m in annual income by 2015.

“We are hopeful to double this number in 2020, as we continue are talks with several cruise companies, along with facilitating the opening of the new cruise terminal by Q1 2014.”

Dr Ahmad A Belhoul, CEO, Strategy and Tourism Sector Development, DTCM confirmed that the cruise tourism sector today contributes to five per cent of the UAE’s annual Gross Domestic Product or GDP.

He said: “There is annual eight to nine per cent of annual growth over the sector, with our aim to hit double digit figures by 2020 in terms of GDP contribution of the cruise segment.”

During the 2012-2013, the emirate hosted 407,825 passengers and 105 ships, which is expected to rise to 420,000 or 110 ships by end of the upcoming season; by 2015, this number is set to rise to 450,000 cruise passengers.

Currently, 21 cruise lines include Dubai on its itinerary, with the DTCM in talks to bring in more players to the seas in the coming months.

Looking further ahead, the 2014-2015 already has it growth strategy in place with TUI Cruises resuming its operations in the region.

C.S. Mein Schiff 2 will operate seven-night long Gulf cruises from Dubai, with destinations expected to include Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Bahrain.

The liner will have a throughput of over 75,000 cruise tourist from its 20 turnaround calls to Dubai.

Additionally, Dubai will host a ‘Double Call’ when both the Queen Mary 2 and the Queen Elizabeth will port in Dubai on the same day - the first time ever that the two Cunard Cruise liners have arrived in Dubai simultaneously for a full passenger turnaround.

Speaking onboard the Mariner of the Seas, Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director, Middle East for RCI, said the cruise line had not ruled out returning to the emirate in the near future after it announced earlier it would pull out at the end of 2013 season.

“We are not in all probability aiming for the 2013-2014 season, but possibly the 2014-2015 is when we can be hopeful of future deployment; we are waiting and eager to return,” she said.

In the last four years of its operations in Dubai, Durai said that the RCI liners have ferried nearly 45,000 passengers along to the emirate every winter season.

Of the source markets, DTCM’s Al Falasi said that they were looking to increase tourists from China, India and Russia in the coming seasons.

Meanwhile, tourists at Port Rashid yesterday that were eagerly awaiting their embarking onboard the Mariner of the Seas, which will have its final port of call in Shanghai, were greeted with a traditional ceremony at Mina Rashid, which included the creation of huge heritage village replica that featured a variety of traditional activities such as live cooking stations, a performance by the Harbiya band, Arabic hospitality (Gahwah), a falcon display, and a henna station.

The luxury liner - which can carry more than 3,800 passengers - is offering a wide variety of itineraries, ranging from three nights to 12 nights from China and Singapore to Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea throughout the rest of the year.

Dubai Cruise Tourism currently operates three facilities on a pier stretch of 1900 meters that can accommodate up to six cruise ships simultaneously.