Dubai tourism chiefs see big rise in cruise travellers

Dubai cruise ships brought 26,580 tourists to the emirate from April 6 to June 14 this year, the latest government statistics show.

Tourism officials said they expected the number of cruise ship passengers to significantly rise this year, the official news agency WAM reports.

Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said 120 ships and more than 325,000 passengers are set to dock at the Dubai Cruise Terminal in Port Rashid this year.

The increase is in-line with the growing number of cruise ships visiting Dubai, officials said. In 2009 there were 250,000 tourists from 100 cruise ships, up from 182,000 on 82 ships in 2008, according to the report.

Official figures reveal cruise ships carried 10,358 travellers in five trips over the three-month period.

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