Upgrading The Cruise Terminal Dubai Paid Off
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The Dubai Cruise Terminal: The Future Of Cruising
The 1900-meter-long cruise quay at Port Rashid which was recently upgraded has paid off its investment. Last year during the start of the winter cruise season, the terminal become the homeport for four ships simultaneously:
- Costa Mediterranea
- MSC Splendida
- Mein Schiff 5
- AIDAstella
While the Dubai Cruise Terminal can manage 7 ships at a time, the four cruises proved the worth of it. Over 20,000 tourists boarded all the vessels to commence the seven-day long journey along the Arabian Gulf.
Meeting The Target Of 1 Million By 2020
By allowing old passengers to disembark and new tourists to board on the quartet in one day, the terminal gave definite proof that it is ready to meet the steady flow of tourists. The Dubai Cruise terminal was built to achieve the lofty goals of the UAE to target over 1 million cruise passengers as the decade ends.
Considering the increase in cruise tourism has seen in recent years, the target is very much achievable for Dubai. In 2016-17, the Rashid Port saw the turnaround of over 150 cruise ships. In 2015-16, the number was just above 130.
In Demand: The Dubai Cruise Terminal
The Dubai Cruise Terminal has demonstrated its ROI not just because it handled four cruise ships with a massive number of passengers simultaneously but because of the size. It is not only the number of cruises that have risen in recent years. The size of each ship is also expanding, putting more demand on ports. The heaving investment in infrastructure by the UAE on ports has made it attractive to fleets from European countries. The choice to tick off travel destinations has made it attractive to tourists.
