Dubai's target of attracting one million cruise terminal passengers per year by 2020-21 - part of the emirate's strategy of bringing in a total of 20 million tourists in the same year - may depend as much on the efforts of other regional players as it does on its own plans.
Last season, Dubai attracted 625,000 passengers, which means it will have to achieve a 60 percent growth in cruise passenger numbers over the next four cruise seasons (which, in the Gulf, typically run from late October to May).
Speaking at the Middle East Cruising Forum, which was organised in December by shipping industry publication Seatrade, Issam Kazim, chief executive officer of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), admitted that the one million number for the 2020-21 cruise season was "a very ambitious target", but he said that provided other industry stakeholders can ensure there are enough flights and visas can be processed reasonably easily, it is achievable.
"The numbers that we have achieved today, and even the target number we have set ourselves of one million, is still scratching the surface," Kazim argued. "No goal is far beyond reach".
Investments in cruise facilities are now being made across the region, and tourism bodies within each country have been collaborating together much more closely through the Cruise Arabia Alliance, to co-ordinate on route development, capacity and other issues. It contains representatives from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
In Abu Dhabi, the establishment of the $7 billion Khalifa Port paved the way for part of the city centre port, Port Zayed, to be transformed into a three-berth cruise terminal, which opened in 2015. Saeed Al Dhaheri, of Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture & Tourism, told delegates at the Seatrade forum that the emirate welcomed 315,000 cruise visitors last year, an increase of almost 40,000 (12.7 percent) on the previous year.
Similar work is now underway in Muscat, where the opening of the Sohar Port and Freezone in 2014 cleared the way for cruise ships to berth at Port Sultan Qaboos in the heart of Oman's capital. A deal was signed with Dubai's Damac Properties in July last year to lead a $1 billion redevelopment of the port, to create a tourist-friendly, mixed-use development containing hotels, restaurants, retail, leisure and residential apartments.
In Bahrain, Abu Dhabi-based Eagle Hills is planning to build a harbour for cruise ships to dock at its Marassi Al Bahrain project.
Bahrain already handles cruise liners at its Mina Salman port, and on January 3 the port received its first two vessels of the current season. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, chief executive officer of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), said in a press statement that he expected 33 ship calls during the current season, bringing in almost 80,000 passengers.
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People take pictures of the cruise ship MS Empress of the Seas which is operated by Royal Caribbean International in Havana, Cuba, October 5, 2017.
REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
Harbouring ambitions
In Dubai, the new Dubai Harbour project being developed by Meraas Holding is to have two cruise ship berths, each with their own terminal, the developer announced in September last year. Combined, these will be able to handle 1.2 million passengers per year.
Esam Ahmed, commercial manager at Mina Rashid and Mina Hamriyah ports for DP World, said that he did not see Dubai Harbour as competition, stating that "it's adding a value" and pointed to the fact that, in Abu Dhabi a beach cruise site exists at Sir Bani Yas Island and it complements the main Zayed Port terminal.
Besides, Mina Rashid has its own expansion plans underway. "Today, we have the capacity to handle six ships and by 2020 we are adding one more berth to be seven berths for the big vessels to call at Mina Al Rashid," Ahmed said at the Seatrade event.
Speaking to Zawya on the sidelines, he said that it was working on upgrades to capacity at terminals two and three, creating a tubing system to allow passengers to move more easily between both berths. Currently, terminal 2 can handle 4,000 passengers and terminal 3 can handle 14,000, but improving links "will enhance the capacity for an additional 4,000-5,000 passengers per day”, Ahmed said.
In terms of other upgrades, he said that DP World was currently "evaluating the numbers" and talking to cruise liners to see what else needs to be done for Dubai to achieve its cruise visitors target.
"We have, for example, the full quayside, 1.9km, for the cruise ships. And then we have additional quayside we can use," he said. "What we are thinking of is building a small terminal, called terminal 4. This terminal might be for luxury ships."
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The cruise ship MSC Magnifica, built by Italian shipper Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, is seen in Marseille, France, October 25, 2017.
REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
Cruise line operators would certainly welcome new destinations, both to help with capacity but also to add variety to a market that is expected to grow rapidly. The Cruise Lines International Association has said that 24 million passengers worldwide were expected to go on cruises last year, but that this number is set to grow to 40 million by 2030.
Steven Young, director of port services and government affairs for cruise giant Carnival's P&O Cruises and Cunard lines, said that in terms of the development of cruise-friendly ports and terminals, "we've seen great improvements in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but we need all the ports in the region to increase and to provide additional berths in parallel".
"It's not really any good having six berths in Dubai and all the way-ports only having two berths, because you are going to get great congestion as you get aboard and as the industry grows," Young said.
"We want to see all of the ports in the region growing in parallel together."
He praised the efforts that have been made in terms of the speed of passenger clearance when arriving at ports, but added that there was still work to do in this area. Young said that of the 19 ships Carnival currently has on order (on top of its current fleet of 105), seven will have a capacity of more than 6,000 guests that will only call at most ports for a single day.
"We really have to have fast processes to get 6,000 guests ashore and back on board, as well as enjoying the destination," he said.
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The Caribbean Princess cruise ship is pictured as it became the first Neopanamax cruise ship to transit through the expanded Panama Canal in Agua Clara, on the outskirts of Colon City, Panama, October 26, 2017.
REUTERS/Carlos Lemos
Tina Oelman, director of port operations, shore excursions and ground operations for TUI Cruises, which has been operating a fleet in the region since 2012, said that she was also "very pleased...by all of the improvements which we have been experiencing" in terms of port development.
However, she said that improvements could be made in a number of areas, such as bike paths for customers who want to take part in active tours and placing a greater focus on heritage and cultural attractions. She also argued that immigration procedures could be improved to achieve greater consistency across the region, and called for shore leave passes to be granted for all crew members, which has been an ongoing issue of contention for cruise operators.
Across the ocean
The other method for growing the market is by extending cruises outside of the Gulf, linking to ports on the Indian subcontinent.
P+O Cruises begin Gulf-India cruises next season, while TUI Cruises, Royal Caribbean and Italy's MSC Cruises are among those lines already operating cruises incorporating both markets, taking in a number of Gulf countries as well as Indian ports like Mumbai, the Goan port of Mormugao and Kochi.
Satyajeet Rajan, director-general for tourism at India's ministry of tourism, told the Seatrade event that his country was offering incentives for investors willing to help develop its ports.
Rajan said India has already invested $10 million in cruise infrastructure at ports and was offering "viability gap funding for PPP [public-private partnership] projects" to the tune of $8 million, or 25 percent of total project costs.
"We would love to have one of the companies coming forward and claiming it for the purchase of a cruise vessel or setting up a cruise terminal. We also have a tourism infrastructure development scheme wherein we have already put in around $180 million into around 15 destinations in India - the coastal destinations."
He said that India currently has more than 120,000 people who leave its shores every year to fly overseas for a cruise holiday.
"We would like to capture that big market and we would like to give them this experience within India."
He said that there was "huge potential for both-way travel" given the number of wealthy Indians who live in the Gulf.
Shri Yashodhan Wanage, the deputy chairman, of Mumbai Port Trust, said that during the 2016/17 season, India received 166 ship calls containing around 200,000 passengers. He added that a Carnival study had shown potential for this market to grow over a period of 20-25 years to 4 million passengers and 955 ship calls.
"Out of this 4 million, 3 million would be domestic," he said.
Discussing opportunities and challenges in the Gulf cruise market, Young said that “linkage to the Indian source markets is crucial for us”.
He said that winter sun reliability is "one of the massive advantages the region has", comparable only to the Caribbean.
He said the speed of development of facilities was impressive. "When the Gulf says it's going to do something, it happens and it happens quickly."
However, he also reiterated the point that unless capacity grows across the region, as opposed to improvements only being made at a couple of ports, "that issue of berth peak time congestion is going to become very real".
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