A new UAE rule that gives multiple-entry visas to cruise passengers is expected to provide a boost to the sector in the upcoming season.
The rule, which took effect from August 1, allows cruise tourists to get a multiple-entry visa for all the UAE ports in their itinerary for Dh200.
Tourists can now enter the UAE through any of its airports, continue on a cruise out of its ports, and come back to the Emirates on the same visa.
According to the latest available figures, at least 300,000 cruise tourists visited Dubai and 189,000 called on Abu Dhabi in the previous season, which lasts from November until April.
But that number will certainly increase because of the reduced hassle and cheaper costs, said industry representatives.
“Though the procedure to get such a visa remains the same, it is now simplified as passengers can get it in one step, and for travellers from the subcontinent it will be cheaper,” said Ashok Kumar, the founder and managing director of Cruise Master in Dubai, which is a representative of 20 cruise companies.
Travel costs would also be reduced for tourists from China, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States, South Africa and Brazil, according to Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
The visas still have to be applied for through a tour operator, Mr Kumar said.
Costa Cruises will have 12 round-trip sailings this year that will visit Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Khasab and Muscat from Dubai.
The US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises said it would return to the Arabian Gulf from the 2015-2016 season with the Splendour of the Seas after pulling out last year. Its itinerary will include 16 round-trip sailings from December next year through March 2016, visiting Muscat, Khasab and Abu Dhabi from its home port in Dubai.
“With this new ruling, we expect to see a good rise in the number of cruise guests that would be coming to the region,” said Abdulaziz Aloshban, the managing director of Safeen Tourism, a representative of US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises in Middle East.
Major ports in the region, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Qatar, Oman and Ras Al Khaimah, are expanding capacity in anticipation of attracting more cruise passengers.
Dubai’s Mina Rashid Cruise Terminal is expected to handle seven cruise vessels simultaneously, up from five and process 14,000 passengers a day after the expansion.
Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed is getting a permanent cruise terminal in two-and-a-half years, which will be able to handle three vessels simultaneously with up to 2,500 total passengers.
Doha Port expects to cater to cruise tourists exclusively from 2016 after commercial port operations move to a US$ $7.4 billion facility outside the city.
In Oman, commercial shipping in Sultan Qaboos Port is expected to stop this year to cater to cruise ships. There are plans to revamp Salalah and Musandam’s Khasab ports as well for cruise tourists.
“With Dubai being the only home port for many international cruise lines operating cruises in this region, the advantage of simplifying visa procedures through granting passengers multiple entry tourist permits will reduce the costs for each passenger and further boost the sector’s growth,” said Hamad bin Mejren, the executive director of business tourism at DTCM.
As unrest in Syria, Egypt and Tunisia continue, the Mediterranean’s global capacity market share for cruise ships this year is expected to decrease to 18.9 per cent from 21.7 per cent last year, according to US-based Cruise Lines International Association. The capacity market share measures the number of berths available a day.
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