DTCM to stimulate cruise tourism in the region

The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Government of Dubai, announced that it has successfully completed an inaugural series of workshops dedicated to promote cruise tourism. The road show, which took place recently, visited seven cities across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, and welcomed over 500 representatives from major tourism companies and the media. Representing the DTCM at the workshops, which were conducted in collaboration with two key cruise lines - Italy’s Costa Crociere and US-based Royal Caribbean International - were Hamad M Bin Mejren, Executive Director of Business Tourism and Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, Director of Cruise Tourism. Commenting on the aim of the road show, the first of its kind for the DTCM, Bin Mejren said: “The aim of the road show was not solely to promote cruise tourism for Dubai; the broader objective was to introduce cruise tourism to the region and to emphasise its significance to the region’s economy. Consolidating efforts and sharing knowledge and experiences with travel agencies across the GCC also formed a core part of the workshops. We are honored, once again, to have the encouragement and support of both Costa Crociere and Royal Caribbean.” The DTCM road show was initiated due to the substantial growth and development witnessed in the sector over the past few years - in 2010, Dubai welcomed 103 ships, which hosted 390,255 passengers. This was topped in 2011 when 108 ships hosting 396,500 passengers docked in Dubai, the Department’s forecast for 2012 is to receive 110 ships and over 400,000 cruise tourists, a figure it hopes will reach 125 ships with 475,000 passengers by 2015. Speaking about their involvement in the roadshow, Ms Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director - Middle East Royal Caribbean International, said: “The cruise tourism sector in the GCC region has witnessed near exponential growth in recent years, yet there is still enormous potential for further expansion. We are privileged to be able to work with DTCM to leverage this potential to its fullest extent and look forward to many more successful collaborations.” Fabiana Maeran, Sales and Product Development Director Costa Crociere commented, “We are very pleased to be working with Dubai to promote cruise tourism in the GCC, a region with a massive potential.” From gulftoday