In Dubai, work has begun on the construction of a new cruise terminal in the port of Rashid, which starting next season will begin to serve tourists arriving on cruise ships, the number of which is growing every year.
The cruise terminal currently in use, built in 2001, will be closed, and the areas it occupies next to the new Dubai Maritime City microdistrict will go to the construction of an elite multifunctional complex. Over the seven years of its existence, the terminal has received almost a million passengers, including the world's largest cruise operators, including the European giant Costa Crociere, which has been visiting Dubai since 2006.
The new terminal will start accepting cruise liners from the next winter season, but it will also be temporary, because a permanent, modern cruise terminal in Dubai Maritime City will be commissioned in four to five years, said Hamad Mohammed bin Majren, Director of Development, Department of Tourism and Dubai Government Commercial Marketing (DTCM). He also noted that in 2008 the current terminal received a total of 90 cruise ships, of which nearly 80 belong to the Costa Crociere cruise operator, which has chosen Dubai as the main port for a seven-day cruise in the region, which includes Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Muscat and Bahrain .
