Dubai Tourism expects 1m cruise visitors this season
Tourism body says 200 ship calls expected this cruise season
Dubai: Dubai is expecting to see over 200 ship calls and around one million cruise visitors in the 2019-2020 cruise season, the emirate’s tourism board said.
This would follow the 2018-2019 cruise season, which saw an increase of 51 per cent in cruise tourist footfall as nearly 850,000 tourists arrived via 152 ship calls. This year’s cruise season started on October 19 with the arrival of TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 5, a ship carrying 6,000 passengers.
The cruise liners will homeport at Dubai’s Mina Rashid Cruise Terminal. “Last season, we witnessed remarkable growth in visitor footfall and international cruise liners opting to dock at the award-winning Mina Rashid cruise terminal, reflecting Dubai’s ongoing efforts to provide international visitors with holistic and world-class services throughout their journeys,” said Hamad Bin Mejren, senior vice president of Dubai Tourism.
In a statement, Dubai Tourism said the arrival of Mein Schiff 5 marks another step in efforts to promote Dubai as a must-visit cruise destination.