Dubai to reach 1m cruise tourists by 2020

Dubai: In line with the recently revealed Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing’s (DTCM) tourism vision for 2020, of 20 million tourists a year, Dubai will see cruise tourist numbers reaching the one-million mark, according to a senior DTCM executive.

The Dubai Cruise Terminal expects to welcome 420,000 cruise passengers this year with 110 ship calls, as per DTCM estimates, up from the 407,000 cruise passengers it saw coming in 2012 with 105 ship calls.

“Cruise tourism is an important part of the tourism industry as a whole. As part of the new vision, cruise tourist numbers will at least double from the current numbers. So our target by 2020 would be one million cruise passengers. And I think that is achievable,” Hamad Bin Mejren, Executive Director-Business Tourism at DTCM, told Gulf News in an interview on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

He added that cruise tourism’s contribution to Dubai’s economy between 2010 and 2015 is estimated to be around Dh3.5 billion, as per an independent study. “Our objectives are to grow cruise tourism both in terms of international visitors using Dubai as an embarkation point and residents of the UAE taking cruises around the region,” Bin Mejren pointed out.

With The Royal Caribbean having made its exit last month, Dubai currently serves as a home port of cruise companies such as Aida Cruises, TUI Cruises and Costa Cruises. And the 2013-2014 season will see Dubai welcome MSC Cruises as its newest home porting partner with the arrival of C.S. MSC Lirica in November. The season will see the cruise liner making 20 turnaround calls to Dubai bringing in over 60,000 passengers, DTCM said.

And looking ahead, the 2014-2015 will see TUI Cruises resuming its operations in the region with C.S. Mein Schiff 2 operating seven-night long Gulf cruises from Dubai, with destinations expected to include Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Bahrain, DTCM said, adding that the cruise 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, DTCM said – “the first time ever that the two Cunard Cruise liners have arrived in Dubai simultaneously for a full passenger turnaround”.