Dubai is looking to welcome 1 million cruise passengers by 2020. The ambitious plan was revealed by emirate's cruise line officials at the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum.
At the opening session of the forum, CEO, Dubai Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), Issam Kazim, highlighted the plan of DCTCM to ensure that cruise ship passengers felt the ‘soul’ of Dubai and there would be extra concentration on shore excursions that show the city's heritage and its older parts, as well as the modern areas and attractions.
Esam Ahmed, commercial manager, Mina Rashid & Mina Hamriyah, DP World, highlighted the growth plans for port of Mina Rashid which includes allocation of additional berths to handle up to seven mega ships (up from the current six) and the development of new cruise terminal to meet market demand by 2020.
Delegates also heard that Abu Dhabi had welcomed a record 315,000 cruise ship passengers in 2017 – almost 40,000 more than 2016.