| Dubai sets its sights on gulf cruise boom

DUBAI Tourism is firmly
focused on the rapidly
growing cruise sector, with
its already huge terminal
facilities undergoing
significant expansion.
Currently Dubai is able to
handle five large ships and
more than 9000 passengers
a day, but has two more
terminals under
development.
“We want to become the
Miami of the Middle East,”
according to Hamad Bin Mejren from the
Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce
Marketing, who spoke to CW in Dubai
yesterday at Arabian Travel Market.
The vision is that Dubai will be the cruise hub
of the region, aiming to attract more
homeported vessels to allow visitors to
experience various Middle Eastern ports.
And the figures speak for themselves, with
cruise ship calls growing from just five in 2003
to 115 this year – and projections this will
climb to 145 in 2015, with a total of 500,000
cruise passengers.
The turning point, according to Bin Mejren,
was in 2006 when Costa Cruises and German
operator AIDA decided to homeport ships in
Dubai during the northern winter.
Royal Caribbean soon followed and TUI
Cruises will also join the Dubai trend this year,
with DTCM saying “we are doing all we can to
make our region attractive for cruising”.
The Dubai cruise terminal facilities offer a
great experience, with shops, VIP lounges,
money exchanges, conference rooms and even
free wi-fi internet access.
Mejren said that negotiation with other
cruise companies about Dubai homeporting
are also underway – and the emirate is also a
popular port of call for round-world cruises.
The amazing hotel infrastructure in Dubai
provides for easy pre and post accommodation
and the city’s aviation connectivity also makes
fly-cruises very simple to package.
Cruise visitors are also able to experience a
range of unique ground activities such as
desert safaris, spa treatments and even skiing.
Pictured above on the Dubai Cruise Terminal
stand at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai
yesterday are, from left: Suresh Babu, Senior
Executive, Cruise Tourism; Hamad Mohammed
Bin Mejren, Dubai Tourism Executive Director
of Business Tourism; Jamal Salem Saif Humaid
Al Falasi, Director, Cruise Tourism; and Saeed
Bin Touq, Cruise Tourism Officer.