The Dubai Cruise Terminal expects to welcome 420,000 cruise passengers this year

In line with the recently revealed Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing’s (DTCM) tourism vision for 2020, of 20 million tourists a year, Dubai will see cruise tourist numbers reaching the one-million mark, according to a senior DTCM executive. The Dubai Cruise Terminal expects to welcome 420,000 cruise passengers this year with 110 ship calls, as per DTCM estimates, up from the 407,000 cruise passengers it saw coming in 2012 with 105 ship calls. “Cruise tourism is an important part of the tourism industry as a whole. As part of the new vision, cruise tourist numbers will at least double from the current numbers. So our target by 2020 would be one million cruise passengers. And I think that is achievable,” Hamad Bin Mejren, Executive Director-Business Tourism at DTCM, told Gulf News in an interview on Thursday, on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM). He added that cruise tourism’s contribution to Dubai’s economy between 2010 and 2015 is estimated to be around Dh3.5 billion, as per an independent study. “Our objectives are to grow cruise tourism both in terms of international visitors using Dubai as an embarkation point and residents of the UAE taking cruises around the region,” Bin Mejren pointed out.  Taylor Scott International