'Ugly' ports ruining repeat cruise business

Cruise ports in the Middle East are in need of serious upgrades if the industry is to appeal to guests and attract repeat visitors, said cruise industry chiefs at last week's Arabian Travel Market.

Ian Calvert of Have a Nice Stay Travel, which supplies cruise passengers to the Gulf region from the UK said it was proving difficult to get repeat business from the UK for Gulf cruise.

“The Gulf has proved a popular destination but it is a one-trick pony in terms of itineraries and it is difficult to get repeat business … the region needs to work together to get passengers to return more than once,” he said.

“Passengers have reported back they think regional ports are ‘ugly’ and need to be more people friendly. Brochures show desert and Arabian culture but this is not apparent on the ground – a true Arabian port would be a good sell.”

Helen Beck, director of international representatives, EMEA for Royal Caribbean, agreed saying the company would like to offer ‘butterfly’ options where passengers could have a choice of two different itineraries from one hub.

“One of our key opportunities is to widen the scope of our itineraries,” she said. “We are restricted in our offering and need to be able to offer the region as a whole – the ports are there but the infrastructure is missing to cater to passenger ships rather than cargo vessels.

“I do believe, looking at the map, that we could go down as far as Salalah, up to Kuwait and Bahrain and eventually to Iran and Saudi Arabia, but I don’t see these ports starting to make moves to invest in their facilities.”