Dubai To Open Second Cruise Terminal

Dubai will start work to open second cruise terminal within a year to handle the expected rise of cruise tourists by 2010. Cruise operators take advantage of the Gulf's mild temperatures and sunshine from December to March will bring in passengers who want to escape the frigid winters in Europe and the US.

Dubai is expecting 165,000 cruise tourists during the 2007-08 season. The number is expected to exceed 200,000 in the 2008-09 season and 350,000 in the next winter period, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said.

Dubai's nascent cruise industry received a major boost when Costa Cruises, a major European operator, made the city its regional cruise hub last year. It has increased capacity this year and deployed two large ships offering a total of six weekly packages to destinations in the region. The combined passenger and crew capacity of the two ships, Costa Romantica and Costa Europa, is 4,756. Last year, the company deployed only one vessel..

The regional package covers Dubai, Muscat, Fuj-airah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

"This destination is very appealing in the countries where we operate," said Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Crociere, the Italian firm that operates the ships.

Most of the passengers are Europeans, but Brazilians and North Americans have accounted for around 2,000 bookings.

"Dubai will have a second terminal in the near future," he said, adding that "the near future will not be longer than one year." said Awad Seghayer Al Ketbi, executive director of Dubai Cruise Terminal.

The plan is expected to be announced either in January or February, added Al Ketbi.