Dubai: Yesterday Dubai welcomed RCCL’s giant Mariner of the Seas cruiseship which was en route to Singapore and China.
Following maritime tradition, the welcome event included a plaque and key exchange ceremony, during which Dr Ahmad Belhoul, ceo of Strategy & Tourism Sector Development for the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: "Dubai is increasingly consolidating its position as a destination of choice for cruise tourism. In 2012 we received 105 ship calls carrying almost 408,000 visitors and expect this to increase to more than 420,000 from 110 ship calls this year. This will continue to increase in 2014 and 2015 with an annual growth rate that is in line with the projected global cruise tourist growth of 3% and we are looking forward to receiving over 450,000 passengers in 2015." [22/05/13]
