Becoming a member of the ranks of scorching locations breaking passenger information in 2024, the United Arab Emirates noticed large development in Dubai.
Between January and November 2024, its Port Rashid and Dubai Harbour welcomed 187 vessels and 281,775 cruise visitors, dealing with over 1.23 million luggage.
Dubai Customs reported the figures, emphasizing its ongoing efforts to boost operations at cruise terminals, strengthen Dubai’s place within the business, and entice extra cruise ships.
“We’re dedicated to supporting Dubai’s rising tourism sector by way of a strategic imaginative and prescient that focuses on delivering environment friendly, state-of-the-art customized providers, making certain a seamless journey expertise for passengers arriving by air or sea,” mentioned Khalid Ahmed, director of the passenger operations division.
Ahmed says the port additionally helps the Dubai Financial Agenda D33, which was introduced in January 2023 with sequence of objectives to realize by 2033. These objectives embrace positioning Dubai as a number one cruise hub and to attract a city-wide tourism whole of 25 million vacationers yearly.
Added Falah Al Sammak, senior supervisor of passenger operations at Al Maktoum Worldwide Airport, “Dubai Customs is frequently creating its providers to make sure clean and environment friendly journey by way of its customs checkpoints, together with Dubai Worldwide Airport and the town’s famend maritime hubs.”
“Dubai’s distinctive place as a bridge between East and West requires distinctive year-round service requirements for travellers and vacationers,” he mentioned.
Port Rashid and Dubai Harbour anticipates one other record-breaking 12 months in 2025, and Ahmed says Dubai Customs takes “pleasure in being an integral a part of Dubai’s world achievements in tourism and journey.”
Dubai Sees Continued Development and Growth
With yet another month left in 2024, the cruise visitors to Dubai continues, with a number of calls all through the month from Costa’s 5,224-passenger Costa Smeralda, Norwegian Cruise Line’s 2,340-guest Norwegian Daybreak, MSC Cruises’ 4,838-passenger MSC Euribia, and AIDA Cruises’ 3,300-guest AIDAprima.
The truth is, plenty of cruise strains have dedicated to return to the port sooner or later, comparable to TUI Cruises, which signed a two-year settlement to spend two cruise seasons in Dubai final March.
Its 2,506-passenger Mein Schiff 4 is among the common guests nonetheless stopping on the port this month, and would be the first vessel to name in 2025 when it arrives on January 2 throughout a 7-night Orient Ab Abu Dhabi voyage.
The Greek-based Celestyal Cruises has additionally dedicated to a long-term presence on the port, homeporting its 1,260-guest Celestyal Journey for the subsequent three winter seasons.
The ship started its inaugural winter sailings on December 9, 2024, providing week-long winter “Desert Days” itineraries by way of March 2025. The ship is scheduled to return yearly by way of 2029.
Resorts World One, operated by Resorts World Cruises, can be homeporting in Dubai by way of April 13, 2025. The 1,800-passenger ship is providing 2- and 3-night cruises to Sir Bani Yas, Khasab, Muscat, and Doha.
However these are usually not the one cruise strains seeing an elevated presence in Dubai. Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Cunard, Princess Cruises, Celeb Cruises, Silversea Cruises, and MSC Cruises are seeing extra passengers keen to go to the Persian Gulf.
The Hamdan bin Mohammed Cruise Terminal at Port Rashid, unveiled a decade in the past on December 11, 2014, stands as the most important single, lined cruise terminal, on the planet. It’s designed to accommodate as much as 14,000 passengers every day.
With a capability to host seven cruise ships and as much as 25,000 passengers concurrently, the port is at the moment including a brand new waterfront leisure space to additional improve customer experiences.
The $6.8-billion Mina Rashid Redevelopment undertaking will add a 3-acre seaside, a floating yacht membership, a swimming pool stretching 1,640 toes, and a brand new Dubai Mall by the Sea, outfitted with eating and leisure sights.
