Dubai Eyes 1 Million Cruise Tourists
Dubai plans to build a marina for luxury yachts in response to high demand as the emirate is targeting one million cruise passengers per year by 2020, said Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation.
The increase will mostly come from beefing up infrastructure at the region’s largest cruise terminal, Mina Rashid, which will also include building a marina for luxury yachts. The government is investing heavily to transform its most popular port, Mina Rashid, into a world-class cruise destination.
The emirate saw half a million passengers in the 2015-2016 season, a 33% increase over the previous season. The number of cruise ships also rose from 109 to 134.
The strategy was the focus at a meeting that brought together Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri Director General, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs-Dubai, Hilal Saeed Al Marri as Director General of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Ahmed Mahboob, Director of Dubai Customs, Emirates Airline officials.
They discussed their future approach to boost the share of cruise tourism in the overall tourism industry in Dubai, in line with Dubai Vision 2020 which aims to attract 20 million tourists a year.
Mina Rashid is, at the moment, the number one cruise terminal in the MENA region, in terms of traffic and infrastructure. “Our goal now is to go all-out and make the passenger-friendly facility the best in the world. To that end, we have joined hands with all authorities present at the port, including Dubai Customs, the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs and Dubai Police to deliver expedited, top-notch services to cruise tourists,” said Bin Sulayem.
Bin Sulayem announced that expansions are currently taking place at Mina Rashid. “To ensure the facility reaches its optimal capacity and to further facilitate passengers’ access to the terminals, more berths are being allocated, existing terminals are being linked via a high-tech tubes system and an additional terminal is being built.
“We are committed to investing in the transformation of Mina Rashid into the cruise destination of choice for cruise liners. We aim to increase the number of cruise ships calling Dubai Cruise Terminals in order to meet our target of one million cruise passengers a year by 2020. In addition, there is a plan to build a marina for luxury yachts at Mina Rashid, in response to the high demand worldwide for luxury yachts berths,” said Bin Sulayem.
