Hamad bin Mejren, senior vice-president of Dubai Tourism, said: "The success of the 2018-19
cruise season stands as a true testament to the robust growth of Dubai's
cruise industry and the city's growing appeal as a year-round 'must-visit' destination.
It said one in four Millennials has taken a
cruise in the past three years and a bigger percentage of millennials are planning a
cruise shortly.
In December, Mina Rashid won the title of World's Leading
Cruise Port at the World Travel Awards, an accolade the facility has earned for the past 11 years.
Since its inauguration in 2014, Mina Rashid's Hamdan bin Mohammed
Cruise Terminal has received over 2.3 million visitors, marking a 172 per cent increase towards the end of 2018.
The Dubai
cruise season 2019/2020 is set to commence on 19 October with Mein Schiff, homeporting
cruise liner carrying over 6,000 passengers.
Run by Jailesh
Cruises, Karnika called at PSQ with 1,043 passengers.
But Celestyal
Cruises has now decided to put Cyprus back on its list of destinations, with Cypriots having the opportunity to hop on a
cruise ship in Limassol as of December.
However, the souvenir shops and business centres at the places these
cruise travellers visited were not attractive to them, the manager said.
About
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) - One Industry, One Voice
Over the next
cruise season (2018/2019), the tourism board of Dubai says it expects to see 725,000
cruise tourists and 825,000
cruise tourists in the 2019/2020 season.
To tap the vast potential and attract more vessels, the Government of India is working on a new
cruise tourism policy.
