Led by the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, DCT, a cruise sector committee meeting was convened last week to tackle challenges faced by the industry and plans for the future of the sector in the emirate.

The meeting, which was led by DCT Chairman, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, hosted many high-level management figures from partners and industry stakeholders including General Mansour Ahmed Al Dhaheri, Director General of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Abu Dhabi; Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, Mohammad Al Bulooki, VP UAE Commercial at Etihad Airways, Jamal Al Hosani from the Department of Municipal Affairs; Mohammed Al Qemzi, General Manager of Integrated Transport Centre, ITC, and Sufian Al Marzooqi, CEO of the Tourism Development and Investment Company, TDIC.

For the upcoming 2017-2018 season, DCT estimates growth of five percent in the number of passengers from the previous year’s figure of 346,000, after a series of initiatives were launched to develop Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector as a primary niche product as part of the emirate’s economic diversification.

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 destinations as a port-of-call and with four maiden calls scheduled in Abu Dhabi for this season, the emirate is at the forefront of the Arabian Gulf’s ambitions to become the leading international alternative winter sun cruise destination.