Business | Tourism

Dubai receives 120,205 cruise tourists in 2007

Figures cross projected 105,000 passengers.

  • Staff Report
  • Published: 00:53 March 6, 2008
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Dubai's cruise terminal received 120,205 tourists in 2007, far more than the projected 105,000, according to a statement from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

During this winter season, Dubai expects more than 200,000 cruise passengers to visit the emirate, giving a boost to the booming tourism industry.

Dubai handled 32,000 cruise passenger movements in 2006, up from 23,000 cruise passengers in the previous year.

Awad Seghayer Al Ketbi, DTCM executive director of Dubai Cruise Terminal, said: "Cruise tourism in Dubai is gaining strength every year and 2007 witnessed a performance that exceeded projections. Dubai has emerged a preferred destination of choice for the global cruise liners. Several new cruise liners started using Dubai as a regional hub for their operations. This is a major boost to the growth of regional cruise tourism."

The ship-shaped Dubai Cruise Terminal, opened in 2001, measures 3,300 square metres and is able to accommodate two ships simultaneously on a 335-metre quay.

The Dubai Cruise Terminal is the world's first to receive ISO-9002 certification and also the world's only cruise facility run by a government tourism body.

DTCM has signed an agreement with cruise operator Costa Crociere, which marks the creation of a full-fledged partnership between Costa Crociere and Dubai, providing for joint marketing initiatives in the next five years. The DTCM has taken up an initiative to discuss the cruise tourism industry growth and expansion in the region at a meeting of senior officials of the Gulf cruise ports in Dubai in March.

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