Cruising in the Gulf

THE Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa, two cruise liners deployed by one of Europe's leading cruise operators and Italy's largest travel group, Costa Cruises, will be calling into Bahrain on frequent visits.

The two ships will have regular cruises between regional harbours, taking Dubai, the operator's regional hub, as the starting point.

Costa Deliziosa and Costa Luminosa offer seven-day cruises. The holiday includes a two-night stay in Dubai, in addition to one night each in Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, culminating in Dubai.

The new cruise season was recently launched aboard the 958-foot cruise ship Costa Deliziosa docked at the Port Rashid terminal in Dubai.

Costa's cruise liners offer a range of special services including Arabic-speaking staff to assist local passengers, a variety of Arabic food and a separate prayer room.

The Abu Dhabi leg of the cruise will offer passengers a trip to Ferrari World, the largest indoor and first Ferrari theme park in the world, and also a visit to the Yas Marina Formula 1 race track.

Costa Cruises expects to bring in 150,000 passengers to the region this tourist season, marking a seven per cent increase over last year.

Visitors will also be assured of a warm welcome in Bahrain as government officials ensure that there will never be a repeat of the ugly scenes surrounding taxi fares which scared off one leading operator, Royal Caribbean, from returning to these shores.

Visits from other operators docking at the new Khalifa Bin Salman Port in Hidd have since passed off successfully. Tourism is seen as a keen driving force to ensure the prosperity of the kingdom in future years.

Only last month, Bahrain's traditions and culture were showcased as the first tourists of the new cruise ship season arrived as part of another whistle-stop tour of the Gulf.

The passengers, mostly from Germany and neighbouring countries, were aboard the luxury AIDA Diva cruise liner, which made the first of 22 weekly visits to the kingdom.

Upon disembarking the 826-foot ship, visitors were treated to samples of traditional Arabic song and dance, teas and delicacies, laid on by Manama-based port handling agents Al Sharif Group, AIDA's partners in Bahrain.

Some of the group also took advantage of the organised trips to Bab Al Bahrain and Bahrain City Centre, which were on offer.

Record numbers of up to 130,000 tourists are expected to arrive in Bahrain during the five-month season.

The cruise sector has fared relatively well during the recent harsh economic times. Despite the need for some lines to discount many of their products, the industry has seen increasing numbers of holidaymakers take advantage of the all-inclusive nature of cruising and the value it offers.

This momentum has seen cruise lines continue their strategies of expansion, and for some this has included opening up operations in the Gulf. Costa was the first operator in the world to place its confidence in the area, making the UAE its regional hub in 2007.

Roberto Ferrarini, director of marine operations at Costa, says last year's increase in the number of guests cruising to Dubai, helped raise millions of dollars for the city as well as benefiting the company.

"In terms of infrastructure, we are liaising with local port and tourism authorities, as well as customs and immigration, to realise the improvements they want to see. The number of people cruising in the region and the consolidation of the market justifies such investments more than in the past," he added.

Yet the Gulf has a long way to go before it can compete with the leading global cruise locations.

One travel expert told the World Cruise Industry Review: "I've been in the business for a long time and it took 30 years for the US to get to where it is today. Even now only 12 per cent of North Americans have experienced a cruise."

A further challenge, industry insiders note, is that the Middle East, despite being an appealing destination, is currently lacking a notable local market. "We have to start encouraging people in the Middle East to cruise locally. Once we reach that scale, you will see more ships deployed in the region and products being customised to the local Middle East market. That's what we're working on," he added.

l The Costa Cruise seven-day Gulf adventure starts at $799 for an inside cabin to $1,919 for a suite. Visit www.costacruise.com for more details.