07 Aug 2006
Dubai: Dining on cruise dhows in the Dubai Creek could become more expensive with the authorities reducing the number of allowable passengers on dhows as part of safety measures.
"There is likely to be price hike of up to 20 to 25 per cent for passengers dining on cruise dhows because the operational cost has increased with the maximum number of passengers being reduced," said Kulwant Singh, Managing Director of Lama Tours and Cruises.
The number of passengers on every boat has been reduced by an average of 20 to 30 per cent.
Singh told Gulf News that an average of 3,000 people dine on cruise dhows on the Dubai Creek every day.
The dining price ranges between Dh150 to Dh220 per person depending on the capacity of the boat and services offered.
Singh, who is also Coordinator for the Boat Rental and Cruise Operators Group, welcomed the decision of the Dubai Ports Authority allowing his company to open the upper deck for passengers.
Other passenger dhow operators will also get permission to open upper decks for passengers provided their boats pass the stability and safety tests.
The DPA had barred dhow operators from using the upper deck for fear of accidents after a pleasure boat capsized in Bahrain killing 58 passengers in Bahrain in March.
Dhow cruise operators had complained that they were losing business since the authorities barred them from using the upper deck for passengers.
The cruise operators said they had lost 50 to 60 per cent of business because of the decision.
A team of experts from the DPA, the Dubai Municipality, the Civil Defence, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and the police have been inspecting dhows used for cruises in Dubai Creek for the last four months in order to improve safety standards and ensure safety of the passengers.
"The industry has been regularised as every cruise operator is now required to have Trim and Stability Booklet containing all the details about the boat being used for cruises," said Singh.
Shahzad Hussain, director of Sales and Marketing at Desert Link Incentives and Tours in Dubai, said: "Reopening of the upper deck for passengers on dhows would certainly bring back a large number of tourists as it was a major attraction for them.
He said increasing prices should be very minimal.
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
