Just cruising along to port

All the Gulf region's ports are gearing themselves up for the arrival of cruise liner Brilliance of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International - the world's largest global cruise company - because the Brits are coming!

The ship is first scheduled to dock in its home port of Dubai on January 18 followed by calls to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, marking the company's official entry into the Middle Eastern market.

In Bahrain, tourism is a significant part of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) currently representing 12 per cent of total income.

"This is a figure that is expected to rise to 25 per cent over the next 10 years," said Essa Hassani, senior marketing specialist of the Ministry of Information Tourism Sector. "Cruising will be a major contributor.

"Currently we have three cruise ships a week docking in the kingdom, representing 120,000 passengers a year. With global cruise lines like Royal Caribbean International coming to the region, we hope to double the passenger numbers in the next two years."

Helen Beck, the Royal Caribbean International's regional sales director, said bookings for the Brilliance of the Seas sailings were performing well and is currently eight per cent ahead of the company's projections, with more than 70 per cent coming from the UK, followed by the US and Germany.

"We are seeing good levels of interest from the Middle East markets and expect bookings to start coming in soon," she added. "Having Brilliance of the Seas sailing in the Gulf region gives us a wonderful opportunity to show off this beautiful ship to our prospective Middle Eastern guests and have them experience a taste of what cruising is all about.

"We're very lucky to be working so closely with the region's ports and all of them have shown tremendous support to the growth of the cruise industry in the respective markets. The upgrading of their ports means Royal Caribbean International will be able to provide its future guests with a truly first class experience from beginning to end."

Due to the huge increase in expected passenger traffic, all of the ports are making provisions to ensure suitable facilities are in place to handle the increase in visitor numbers.

As reported in GulfWeekly, Bahrain could become the goods and cargo gateway to the northern Gulf following the opening of the Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP).

The new facility, also known as Bahrain Gateway, stands on reclaimed land at Hidd, and occupies a 900,000sq/m site which, although around the same size as the old Mina Salman facility, has vastly expanded capabilities.

And the new facility is expected to herald a new era for the kingdom in welcoming a growing number of cruise liners.

The Gulf is becoming an increasingly popular destination for winter cruising holidays and the Bahrain Gateway boasts a dedicated passenger terminal designed specifically to handle cruise ships, which will also be given priority berthing.