Dubai 'seeks to be winter cruise hub'
Dubai : The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is in talks with a number of cruise lines to launch services to Dubai next winter, said Awad Al Seghayer, DTCM's acting manager of the cruise terminal and director of the Dubai Convention Bureau.
"We are in talks with other operators and anticipate a number of new liners coming to Dubai next winter," he said.
"Dubai has all the requirements to be a winter hub for cruise operators. It is the only major passenger traffic hub from Athens to Singapore and it takes only three days to relocate a ship from Europe to Dubai."
Meanwhile, Seetours, the German branch of the world's largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, has announced that its 14-deck AIDAblu cruise ship will stop in Dubai this year for the first time.
Seetours is just one of several operators being eyed by the DTCM as part of its campaign to position the emirate as a winter cruise hub.
The winter cruise hub positioning is to be marketed by the DTCM at the Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition and conference being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6-8.
"When working out a routing, we take a careful look at market surveys and trends," said Michael Thamm, president of Seetours. "The main focus is on politically stable locations and regions, operability of flight transportation, possibility of tourist pre- and post-stays and attractive ports of call within the routings. Dubai is a fascinating port we would gladly include in our itinerary more often, especially as our Trans Suez itinerary received high interest among our customers and was almost fully booked in a very short time.
"This success shows how appealing Dubai as a port of call really is. Given that the political situation in the entire Arabian region stabilises, Dubai is certainly a really attractive alternative as a starting point for our winter programme in the long term."
Al Seghayer said: "This conference is going from strength to strength and Seatrade Middle East Maritime, and the associated Dubai International Maritime Awards, are greatly assisting our efforts to ensure Dubai is firmly on the international cruise industry map.
"We are working closely with the private sector to realise our winter hub positioning and will be presenting this to some of the world's leading cruise operators, business developers and itinerary planners, which we will host at Seatrade Middle East Maritime."
The Fourth Seatrade Middle East Cruise conference, which will be held December 6-7, will explore how to unlock the region's cruise potential, including itinerary options and infrastructure development.
Dubai : The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is in talks with a number of cruise lines to launch services to Dubai next winter, said Awad Al Seghayer, DTCM's acting manager of the cruise terminal and director of the Dubai Convention Bureau.
"We are in talks with other operators and anticipate a number of new liners coming to Dubai next winter," he said.
"Dubai has all the requirements to be a winter hub for cruise operators. It is the only major passenger traffic hub from Athens to Singapore and it takes only three days to relocate a ship from Europe to Dubai."
Meanwhile, Seetours, the German branch of the world's largest cruise company, Carnival Corporation, has announced that its 14-deck AIDAblu cruise ship will stop in Dubai this year for the first time.
Seetours is just one of several operators being eyed by the DTCM as part of its campaign to position the emirate as a winter cruise hub.
The winter cruise hub positioning is to be marketed by the DTCM at the Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition and conference being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from December 6-8.
"When working out a routing, we take a careful look at market surveys and trends," said Michael Thamm, president of Seetours. "The main focus is on politically stable locations and regions, operability of flight transportation, possibility of tourist pre- and post-stays and attractive ports of call within the routings. Dubai is a fascinating port we would gladly include in our itinerary more often, especially as our Trans Suez itinerary received high interest among our customers and was almost fully booked in a very short time.
"This success shows how appealing Dubai as a port of call really is. Given that the political situation in the entire Arabian region stabilises, Dubai is certainly a really attractive alternative as a starting point for our winter programme in the long term."
Al Seghayer said: "This conference is going from strength to strength and Seatrade Middle East Maritime, and the associated Dubai International Maritime Awards, are greatly assisting our efforts to ensure Dubai is firmly on the international cruise industry map.
"We are working closely with the private sector to realise our winter hub positioning and will be presenting this to some of the world's leading cruise operators, business developers and itinerary planners, which we will host at Seatrade Middle East Maritime."
The Fourth Seatrade Middle East Cruise conference, which will be held December 6-7, will explore how to unlock the region's cruise potential, including itinerary options and infrastructure development.