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Cruise Arabia is a collaborative initiative formed by Dubai’s Department
of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Oman’s Ministry of Tourism, and
Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. Established in 2013, the three
agencies are now working together to transform the Arabian Gulf into a
leading cruise destination globally, in partnership with leaders in the
cruise industry.
New multi-visa boosts Dubai’s cruise & medical tourism
The permit eases access to all Emirate’s and neighbor countries’ ports
New improvements to the UAE’s visa system are boosting Dubai’s cruise sector and medical tourism in the emirate. The ruling, which has taken effect on August 2014, introduces a multiple-entry tourist visa for cruise passengers and entry permits for medical tourists and their companions. The so-called multi-visa costs UAEd200 (about € 40 or US$ 50) and remains to be handled exclusively by tour operators, so passengers don’t need to care about papers nor wait in rows once at destination.
Dubai being home port of many vessels, the emirate expects to receive no less than one million cruise tourists by 2020, according to Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). Only during last season –November 2013 to April 2014–, Dubai welcomed 300,000 cruise passengers, of which more than also visited Abu Dhabi and other nearby destinations. For Hamad bin Mejren, Director of Business Tourism at DTCM, the multi-visa “reduces costs and time for several passengers arriving to Dubai by plane and taking a cruise from Mina Rashid” to Abu Dhabi or Oman, he stated.
The new visa will allow travelers coming from growing tourist emitters –such as India, China, Brazil, Russia or South Africa– to travel around many Gulf countries with a single permit. Main ports in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Oman and Ras al Khaimah are planning to expand or have started the works already. Dubai’s Mina Rashid Cruise Terminal will increase its capacity from 5 to 7 vessels at once, which will raise its capacity to up to 14,000 passengers a day.
