Cruise Travel Continues to Expand in the Middle East

The recent Seatrade Middle East Cruise Forum has drawn to a close, and current and future travel in the area looks bright. Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) anticipates exponential growth, and Cruise Arabia looks to the Indian Subcontinent for additional expansion.

Over the last five years alone, Oxford Economics has reported a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7 percent with a 10.5 percent CAGR anticipated to sustain towards 450,000 cruise passengers by 2020 and eventually 808,428 in 2025. In its current season through early June 2017, Abu Dhabi is on track to receive 250,000 passengers from 137 calls via 26 ships, itself a 21 percent increase from last year.

“Our strategic intervention is supporting Abu Dhabi’s cruise industry, and we will continue to build on the significant achievements in the development of Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector by building capacity through effective partnership in the development of our cruise tourism economy,” said HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

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Contributing towards such numbers are developments such as MSC Cruises’ new Sir Bani Yas private island which just opened last month off the southwest coast of Abu Dhabi. The MSC Fantasia is the first ship to stop at the destination during its 7- to 14-night sailings in the region. The ship’s other ports include Bahrain, Doha, Khasab, Khor Fakkan and Muscat.

Ghobash also cited the completion of a permanent cruise terminal as a significant project that benefits the cruise guest experience in partnership with airline, travel and hospitality collaborators.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) along with Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), Bahrain Tourism & Exhibitions Authority, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), Oman Ministry of Tourism (Oman Tourism) and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) is collectively setting out to expand its promotional efforts in the Indian Subcontinent.

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“Cruise Arabia has initiated discussions with the relevant ministry departments in India and we are looking to develop co-operation moving forward,” said Hamad M Bin Mejren, Senior Vice President, Stakeholders Department, Dubai Tourism. “The proximity of the Indian Subcontinent is perfect for cruise tourism and we will work with cruise lines to identify itineraries originating from the Middle East for the 12-14 day duration trips in particular.”

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines especially recognizes the region as historically important to the UK and British cruisers, and Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited alone has 29 calls in India scheduled this season across its three brands.

Also key to the region are Muslim travelers, a market which accounts for $151 billion in international value and is expected to up to $243 billion by 2021.

“In partnership with international cruise lines and the travel community, we intend to deliver against priority areas to ensure our cruise products are well placed to meet specific Muslim demands on a number of fronts including food and beverage, segmented family and gender-specific products and provision of prayer facilities,” added Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau.

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