Dubai cruise tourists touch half-a-million mark

Tuesday, 28 April 2015 09:40

The  number of cruise tourists visiting Dubai has increased from 10,000 in 1998 to an expected figure of 600,000 this year, officials have said.

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director-General of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai, GDRFA, said that the development of services at Dubai seaports has made the emirate among the world’s top destinations for winter cruise tourism.

Figures showed that ship arrivals and departures from Dubai ports in 2014 reached a total of 59,197, an increase of 14 per cent from the year 2013.

Colonel Hussein Ibrahim, Assistant of the Director-General for the Sea and Land ports at the GDRFA, said that next year the number of cruise tourists is expected to rise as the number of cruise ships increases up to four ships per day during the season.

Most of the cruise ships sail from Europe and stop in Dubai to load or unload passengers and tourists.

Last modified on Tuesday, 28 April 2015 09:51