Port Rashid Receives 5 Cruise Liners in a Single Day
Port Rashid received five international cruise liners at the Dubai Cruise Terminal on a single day, marking a historic milestone during the 2018/2019 season.
The cruise lines originating from UK, USA, Germany, Italy and Spain brought in over 25,000 tourists.
The milestone event forms part of the ongoing efforts of the recently formed Dubai Cruise Committee to raise the profile of Dubai as a leading destination for winter sun cruising and reaffirming its position as the “Cruise Hub of the Region”.
The cruise ships included Marella Cruises’ Marella Discovery, Aida Cruises’ Aida Prima, MSC Cruises’ MSC Splendida, Pullmantur Cruises’ Horizon, and Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Constellation.
Three of them marked their maiden call to Dubai, while one marked its debut ship call of the cruise line to the region.
Meanwhile, three of these cruise lines will be homeporting in Dubai for the full season operating the regular Arabian Gulf routes, with the remaining ships docking in the city for excursions and passenger turnaround as a part of their long international programmes.
Five Leading Port Groups Promote Sustainability
Six cruise lines with a total of seven ships will homeport in Dubai this season opening up multiple options for tourists to choose in addition to over 20 other world-class cruise lines operating longer international itineraries on which the tourist can choose to embark from Dubai.
The Cruise Terminal at Port Rashid witnessed a noticeably growing traffic in cruise tourists in the last years.
The number of cruises to Dubai grew by 68% from 93 in 2013-2014 season to 156 cruises in 2016-2017.
Around 1.9 million cruise tourists have made it to Dubai in 4 seasons since 2013-2014 to 2016-2017 season on 489 cruise liners.
Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “The arrival of 25,000 cruise tourists in a single day underlines Dubai’s growing presence in world cruise tourism and is evidence of the success of Dubai Cruise Terminal’s role in making this possible, following the wise vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
“Our state-of-the-art facilities, world class infrastructure, and connectivity have laid the foundations for a robust sector that will see continued growth moving forward.
“Between 2013 and 2017, our world class Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal has seen a 68 per cent increase in cruise ship calls, and tourist numbers arriving at our Mina Rashid facility have doubled from 320,000 to 625,000 during the same period.
“We will continue to provide support through the development of infrastructure and facilities that will create a unique experience that caters to the sophisticated standards visitors expect and deserve”.
Dubai’s cruise industry is set for a strong performance throughout the 2018/2019 season, with 725,000 cruise tourists expected.
