One of the region's biggest ocean liners sets sail from Dubai today as the emirate seeks to tap into the US$25 billion (Dh91.82bn) cruise market and overcome the impact of the global economic downturn on its tourist industry.
Royal Caribbean's $400 million cruise ship, Brilliance of the Seas, can hold about 2,500 guests and is scheduled to bring more than 32,000 passengers to the region in its first four-month season.
On average, cruise tourists spend more than $300 a visit, while crew members spend about $150, research by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) shows.
Travel and tourism contributed 19 per cent of Dubai's GDP last year. Tourism officials hope to attract 15 million visitors by 2015, but the recession has made that goal difficult.
"This brings more exposure to Dubai, more people into the country, and more people coming in and spending money," said George Varghese, the general manager of the port agent Rais Hassan Saadi Group.
More than 13 million passengers went on cruises in 2008, the Cruise Lines International Association reported. In the first half of last year, Dubai visitor numbers rose by 5 per cent.
Royal Caribbean, which is based in Miami, is launching a seven-night Gulf cruise which travels to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Dubai is the home port of the Brilliance of the Seas, Royal Caribbean's first ship based in the Middle East.
"Cruise tourists are becoming an increasingly important part of Dubai's tourism industry," said Hamad bin Mejren, the executive director of business tourism at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
"We are confident that Royal Caribbean International's decision will give a big push to our efforts to promote cruise tourism in the region."
But one factor that might inhibit expanding the cruise industry is the fact that Dubai does not offer a cruise visa for passengers wishing to disembark.
Tourists who are not citizens of the 33 countries that do not need visas to enter the UAE, must buy three separate visas at a cost of $240 a visitor.
Citizens of China and Russia, which are important markets for the UAE, must obtain the extra visas.
"This visa issue is something that does need a better resolution," said Michael Bayley, the senior international vice president for Royal Caribbean. "It's just impractical."
Italy's Costa Cruises made the emirate its regional hub in 2007. Royal Caribbean's competitor also plans to expand its regional presence.
A new ship, Costa Deliziosa, will be named in Dubai late next month. The ship will start sailing around the Gulf in March. Costa Cruises said it expected a 40 per cent increase in the number of guests cruising to Dubai in the current season, which would have a benefit of ?14m (Dh73.9m) for the city.
Dubai hosted 100 cruise ships last year, which brought in about 260,000 tourists. This year, Dubai will host 120 ships with more than 325,000 passengers. As the sector continues to grow, Dubai expects in 2012 to host 150 ships with 425,000 passengers, the DTCM forecasts.
Dubai's new cruise terminal is expected to open next month, the DTCM said, although its launch was originally planned to coincide with the arrival of Brilliance of the Seas. The ship is using the temporary terminal.
The new terminal will have the capacity to handle up to four ships at the same time.
Mr Varghese said other emirates and countries in the Gulf are interested in becoming home ports, but they would first need to heavily upgrade their infrastructure to support the arrival of cruise ships. Abu Dhabi is carrying out a feasibility study for a cruise terminal.
The ADTA has said: "It is considered Abu Dhabi has strong potential to develop as a home or turnaround port for cruise ships operating in the Gulf region."
The number of cruise ships stopping in the capital grew from about 10 a year in 1999 to more than 50 in the latest season. At the same time, the number of passengers grew from about 10,000 to nearly 100,000. Abu Dhabi is looking at a target of 300 ships and more than 600,000 passengers a year by 2030.
Next year, Royal Caribbean's cruises out of Dubai will also sail to Mumbai, Goa and Cochin in India.
Royal Caribbean said it was in discussions with Emirates Airline to develop a strategic partnership to provide stopover opportunities, for example, to shuttle cruise guests from Australia to Rome.
@Email:rbundhun@thenational.ae
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How it works
1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground
2) Instead of water draining straight through the sand, it apparently helps the soil retain water
3) One application is said to last five years
4) The cost of treatment per hectare (2.4 acres) of desert varies from $7,000 to $10,000 per hectare
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
