The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, on Monday, announced the launch of the 2017-2018 Cruise Season with the arrival of luxury cruise liner Seaborne Encore at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal in Mina Zayed.

The department estimates an expected growth of 5 percent in the number of passengers for the 2017-2018 season from the previous year’s figure of 346,000. With four maiden calls scheduled in Abu Dhabi, the emirate is at the forefront of the Arabian Gulf’s ambitions to become the leading international alternative winter sun cruise destination. The rise in projected passenger figures follows a series of initiatives to develop Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector as a primary niche product in its economic diversification.

Seaborne Encore arrived from Muscat, Oman, on Monday morning at the Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal in Mina Zayed at 8am with a total of 604 passengers.

"We are very pleased to welcome Seaborne Encore from her journey across the Gulf. It is with the great pleasure that we launch the new season of cruise tourism in Abu Dhabi with partners Abu Dhabi Ports and Etihad Airways as we work towards achieving even greater growth in our cruise passenger numbers," said Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director-General of the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.

Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Executive Vice President at Abu Dhabi Ports Company, said, "We are happy to be announcing the opening of Abu Dhabi’s cruise season, which continues to grow as a global hub for tourism with visitor numbers on the rise year on year. Abu Dhabi Ports is playing a crucial role, with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, in promoting Abu Dhabi as world-class leading cruise hub.

"We had a record-breaking year during the last cruise season, and we look forward to reviving those figures for the coming season and being part of new announcements during the course of this new cruise season," he added.

Served by the state-of-the-art Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal, the capital welcomes leading international cruise lines, those originating from Abu Dhabi and visiting the destination as a port-of-call. Abu Dhabi is also home to the region’s only dedicated cruise stopover beach on Sir Bani Yas Island in the emirate’s Al Dhafra Region. The first-of-its-kind in the Arabian Gulf, the beach is a unique addition to Abu Dhabi’s cruise market offering.

Source: Wam