By
Rebecca Gibson |
Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, welcomed its final cruise call of the 2014-2015 season on 2 May.
Operated by Abu Dhabi Ports, Zayed Port welcomed Regent Seven Seas’ Seven Seas Voyager, which has called three times this season. In total, the port handled a record 94 cruise calls and 200,407 passengers between October 2014 and May 2015.
Almost half of the total cruise passengers visiting Zayed Port this year originated from Germany, while a large majority came from Italy and the UK. US passengers were also frequent visitors.
More than 61,000 of the cruise tourists who booked tours visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, while 70,028 visited the shopping malls and 43,700 explored the Heritage Village.
Other popular cruise tours included visits to Al Ain city, Ferrari World, The Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital, Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi, Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island, the Yas Marina F1 Circuit, Jumeirah Etihad Towers, the Arabian Nights Village and the Big Bus tour.
“It is hard to quantify the amount cruise passengers contribute to the economy, but these figures supplied to us by the tour leaders and cruise shipping agents give a good indication of the impact this growing industry,” said Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports. “Increasing tourism is a key objective of the United Arab Emirates plans to diversify the economy. Our work to build and enhance this valuable industry, in conjunction with the Tourism & Culture Authority Abu Dhabi and our partners in Cruise Arabia is clearly delivering solid and impressive results.”
To boost cruise tourism in the country, Abu Dhabi Ports has started to construct a new permanent cruise terminal building, while work to develop Sir Bani Yas Island into the region’s first island stopover destination is also underway.