Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

New cruise alliance launched to promote Gulf ports 

By Pramod Kumar
DTCM
Officials at the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding at ITB Berlin travel trade convention

Cruise Arabia, a new alliance formed by Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman’s maritime and tourism authorities, is to position the Arabian Gulf as a global cruise destination.

The alliance solidified its commitment through a memorandum of understanding signed at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin industry event in Germany.

The alliance will foster partnerships to enhance the cruise experience for passengers, attract more cruise liners to the region, improve infrastructure at ports, and drive economic growth in the regional cruise tourism sector. 

They will also work to improve stakeholder relations and conduct joint marketing efforts on both regional and international fronts.

Dubai has been a significant player in the Cruise Arabia alliance, working closely with its partners to establish an interconnected and integrated regional cruise service. 

“The Cruise Arabia alliance will further reinforce Dubai’s position as the cruise hub of the region, aligned with the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, to further consolidate the emirate’s status as one of the top three global cities for business and leisure,” said Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce Marketing.

Dubai has two cruise ports – Mina Rashid (Port Rashid) and Dubai Harbour – which can accommodate nine mega-cruise vessels simultaneously.

The emirate’s 2023-2024 winter cruise was launched on October 28, 2023, with the arrival of the luxury liner Mein Schiff 2, docking at the Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Mina Rashid. 

Mina Rashid can handle seven mega-cruise vessels or 25,000 passengers at the same time, while the Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal can handle 14,000 passengers daily.  

Inaugurated in 2021, Dubai Harbour has two terminals on a 910 metre quay. The terminal received 300,000 passengers in the 2022-2023 season, a fourfold increase from its debut season, with a 40 percent increase in ship calls.

Latest articles

EDB food wheat farm sharjah

EDB hails $305m in financing for agriculture businesses

One dirham in 12 lent by Emirates Development Bank in the past three years has gone into financing for agriculture technology and food production businesses, the bank said on Thursday. EDB said the AED1.12 billion ($305 million) of loans represent 8 percent of the AED14.72 billion of financing it has provided since April 2021.  It […]

The oil market could now shift focus to the actions of US President-elect Donald Trump

Opec+ delays oil output hike until April

Opec+ on Thursday pushed back the start of oil output rises by three months until April and extended the full unwinding of cuts by a year until the end of 2026 due to weak demand and booming production outside the group. Cuts had been scheduled to begin unwinding from October 2024 but a slowdown in […]

OQBI has offloaded 49% of its shares, with 40% going to retail investors

Oman’s OQBI poised to make Muscat bourse debut

Oman’s OQ Base Industries will debut on Muscat’s bourse on December 15 after the state oil company subsidiary completed a $489 million initial public offering. OQBI, the third OQ unit to float since March 2023, has offloaded 49 percent of its shares. Of the shares sold, 30 percent went to institutions, 40 percent to retail […]

Turkish arms exports

Turkish arms exports up 19% year on year

Turkish defence companies have posted another record-breaking year for exports, with a 19 percent increase year on year and sales to 178 countries. Sales from January to November this year have already eclipsed 2023’s total of arms and equipment shipments to overseas clients, reflecting the arms industry’s technical developments and broader product range.  Defence and […]