Cruise Liners to Expand Arabian Gulf Operations

Cruise Liners to Expand Arabian Gulf Operations

Confidence in the potential of cruise operations in the Arabian Gulf and Indian Ocean was highlighted at the Seatrade Middle East Cruise Convention (SMECC), which concluded on October 20 at the Meydan hotel in Dubai.

Senior executives from 14 global cruise lines, plus representatives from regional tourism and port authorities, tour operators, travel agents and other cruise partners addressed both the opportunities and challenges faced in expanding the sector – reinforcing the message that the Arabian Gulf has potential for further growth as new lines commit to winter cruise schedules in the region.

The 3 day event - which was hosted by the Government of Dubai, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Cruise Terminal and DP World – was moderated by Seatrade Chairman Chris Hayman, who said the company had organized the first cruise conference in Dubai back in 1999, and he applauded how far the sector had developed since then.

In attendance at the event were representatives from TUI, a German cruise line that will start winter hub operations from Dubai in 2012, as well as from MSC, whose ship MSC Lirica arrives in Dubai on October 28 en route to Abu Dhabi, where it will homeport for the winter for the first time.

MSC Corporate operating officer, Neil Palomba, revealed at the Convention that a decision had already been made to upgrade ship operations in the region next winter: “While we have 95 port calls schedule for winter 2011/2012, next year we will bring in the MSC Opera, which has capacity for 2,000 passengers and will sail 25 cruises with 125 port calls – bringing in 54,000 passengers,” he said.

Whilst the cruise line executives were enthusiastic about the potential of the Arabian Gulf as a winter cruise centre, three issues were highlighted as areas where more work could be done to further ambitious growth plans.

According to Sebastian Aherns, managing director of Hapag-Lloyd, the region was a ‘dream destination’ but he said the UAE transit visa situation had to be resolved as it involved additional costs that made the region difficult to sell for volume operators. “Dubai embraces a phenomenal level of hospitality and its neighboring countries can also follow suit in a concerted effort to market the region,” he added.

In addition, cruise executives agreed that new port calls were required to enable them to vary their cruise itineraries, all of which focused on the three major hubs of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.