The massive investment that is planned to upgrade cruise shipping facilities in the Middle East ports should be complemented by a coordinated regional cruise ship strategy, feels the Ministry of Tourism (MoT).
H E Maitha al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary, MoT, said, "A regional strategy would promote a wider range of cruise experiences and secure a greater market share of overall cruise activity."
Oman, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have major port redevelopment projects for cruise shipping. Mina Zayed home port of Abu Dhabi is planning a permanent dedicated cruise facility to accommodate 600,000 passengers by 2030.
Expansion at Dubai's Cruise Terminal is also anticipated, expanding existing amenities and providing berthing facilities for up to seven cruise ships to accommodate projected passenger numbers of 625,000 by 2015. Qatar too is investing US$5.5bn (RO2.1bn) in a cruise ship terminal in Doha capable of handling two to three cruise ships.
With the last couple of years witnessing significant growth in the cruise sector in the sultanate and increasing popularity of Khasab and Salalah ports apart from Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) in Muscat, the number of port calls and passengers handled are on the rise.
The cruise season ended in the beginning of May and PSQ alone received 108 cruise vessels and handled 174,305 passengers from September 2011 to May 2012. Salalah Port got 29 port calls and received 23,265 passengers during the same period.
The government of Oman is also progressing on its master plan to transform PSQ into a world-class cruise destination. H E Maitha added, "The regional cruise ship marketing strategy should be backed with an attractive regional brand and associated messaging.
"It would look at opportunities to develop cruise activity from the GCC and international markets, as well as from the Gulf's inclusion in world cruise itineraries, and attracting a greater share of the cruises from Asia."
As a cruising region, the Arabian Gulf is compact with all major ports being a day's sail, or less, for most vessels. M C Jose, CEO, projects and logistics, Khimji Ramdas, agreed that a unified approach would do good for the cruise industry in the Middle East. He added that for Oman, the focus should be on developing port facilities at even smaller ports like Khasab and Sur to receive big cruise ships.
Helen Beck, regional director - EMEA, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, speaking at an earlier occasion with Muscat Daily, said, "There is great importance in having a GCC-wide discussion on the opportunity that the cruise industry presents to the region."
© Muscat Daily 2012
