Cruise traffic in Dubai has returned to its 2001 high of 14,000 passengers and is set to break new levels next year with some 60,000 passengers due in the emirate, according to a leading industry expert.

Addressing the Fifth Seatrade Middle East Cruise Conference at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), Aris Zarpanely, Executive Vice President Strategic Development of the USA’s Silversea Cruises said his company’s cruises from Dubai are a sell out but the region’s infrastructure needs to be better served to build the business.

“Our cruises from Dubai have not just been sell-outs but immediately wait-listed too, so the demand is clearly there and, although Europeans are in the majority, the largest single group are North Americans. They account for nearly a third of all guests on these cruises. So it shows that – whatever people might think – North America is now a genuine source market for cruises in this region,” said Zarpanely.

“But for the real barrier to major growth in cruise tourism here, we must look beyond Dubai. The fact is that the cruise tourism infrastructure in this region as a whole is a long way from where cruise lines would like it to be. Dubai is an exception and in Oman, too, the facilities are improving all the time in Muscat – soon – Salalah, but two or three ports do not make a cruise itinerary. And they certainly don’t offer the possibility of the range of itineraries a destination needs to attract many more cruise ships.”

Zarpanely said Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Qatar all have real cruise destination potential.

“Our clients want to visit them and we can take them to ports like Aden, Kish Island, Bandar Abbas and Jeddah. But, after the novelty has worn off, these do not yet measure up to what the lines and their passengers expect from cruise ports like Dubai, for example,” he said.

“When it decided to move into the cruise tourism sector, the authorities in Dubai came to the cruise industry to ask for advice. They found out what we wanted, acted on that information and that is why the ships are coming here now. But there would have been more ships, and sooner, if there had been similar consultation and investment elsewhere in the region.”

Zarpanely acknowledged some headway is being made regionwide. “There are new cruise terminal facilities built, or planned, in Muscat and Salalah and also at Ras Al Khaimah. While both Qatar and Bahrain have cruise port projects in hand, I also know that Oman and Qatar have linked with Dubai to jointly promote cruising in the region, but I believe the time has come to go even further,” he said.

Zarpanely called for the region to establish its own cruise industry association – Cruise Arabia - with Dubai taking the lead.

“Some might worry about Dubai giving away secrets which could erode its position as the leading cruise port in the region, but everyone in the business knows that the market leader benefits most from any growth in the market, so Dubai would be in a win-win situation if such an association were created for this region,” he said.

Zarpanely said the association could look beyond the Arabian Sea for its members incorporating Egypt and Jordan for their Red Sea ports and India.

“There may be scope to affiliate Cruise Arabia with the Indian Ocean Cruise Association, It is certainly worth thinking about,” he concluded.

The Fifth Seatrade Middle East Cruise Conference is part of the Seatrade Middle East Maritime (SMEM) conference and exhibition which continues at the DWTC until Wednesday night. The SMEM 2006 exhibition is the largest in the event’s history with some 250 exhibitors from 32 countries and key national pavilions.