Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) said it has erected a new tented cruise terminal at Mina Zayed which can simultaneously accommodate 1,300 passengers.

The cruise terminal has been set up in working in collaboration with industry stakeholders Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) and Abu Dhabi Terminals (ADT).

The facility, on the site of the former ADTA visitor information centre, has been designed to cater for the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 cruise seasons, said an ADTA statement.

It spans some 2,000 sq m and comprises two dedicated halls – one a luggage-handling facility, the other a passenger centre complete with a waiting lounge, security section, prayer rooms, offices, visitor information centre, currency exchange as well as customs and immigration facilities.

Announcing the launch, ADTA director general Mubarak Al Muhairi said, 'The new terminal will open with a welcome ceremony for the 59,000 ton, luxurious MSC Lirica liner which will, from the end of this month, use Abu Dhabi as its home port as it embarks on 19, eight day/seven night cruises around the Arabian Gulf.'

The MSC Lirica has a capacity for 2,199 guests in 784 cabins, he added.

Al Muhairi said the arrival of MSC Lirica – the first liner to homeport in the UAE capital - will bring a significant boost to Abu Dhabi’s cruise traffic which is already being aided by increased deployment of larger capacity vessels by existing operators.

'The homeporting will also deliver greater knock-on benefits to the local economy with more returns from pre and post accommodation bookings, longer lengths of visitor stay and vessel provisioning, ' he added.

ADTA, he said, has prioritised cruise tourism as one of its five 2011/2012 strategy pillars.

“Cruise shipping has enjoyed strong recession-proof growth for many years,” explained Al Muhairi. “The market obviously ranges between low cost volume cruise business and very high end exclusive cruises – Abu Dhabi is targeting the higher end segment.”

In line with its long-term cruise ambitions, ADTA is planning to construct a permanent, purpose-built cruise terminal at Mina Zayed.

 “Ultimately our capacity to build the cruise tourism business will rely on a combination of good planning, good infrastructure, strong marketing and industry co-operation,” explained Al Muhairi.

“With this in mind, we now have government approval for the concept of a world-class cruise terminal which is required if we are to fulfill our ambition of becoming a home port of choice. We have singled out three possible sites in the Mina Zayed vicinity and have commissioned technical feasibility studies into these,' the official said.

'Once these are complete, we will go to the design stage. We intend to make the permanent facility truly world-class. We realize we will be servicing new generation vessels that need ashore the same high-level facilities the passengers experience on board,' he remarked.

“We have strong hopes of the cruise business continuing to grow into the future with longer term projects for 300 calls and 600,000 passengers by 2030,” he added.

Captain Mohamed Al Shamisi, VP, Operations, Ports Unit at ADPC said, “The port is a key part of Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure and this project demonstrates the ongoing support between Government organisations to develop the economy and the tourism sector in the emirate.”

In the 2010/2011 cruise season, Abu Dhabi received 78 calls by cruise liners with around 140,000 passengers disembarking.

Martijn Van de Linde, ADT’s chief executive officer said, 'We began developing the cruise market five years ago, and are proud to be part of this new development that will further boost the experience for visitors coming to Abu Dhabi as part of a cruise vacation.'

'We are also very pleased that MSC will join other leading cruise lines such as COSTA, AIDA, and Royal Caribbean here in Abu Dhabi. Jointly these lines will bring around 170,000 tourists to visit our wonderful city before the season ends in April next year,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service