Cruise liners to return to Abu Dhabi in September

Cruise ships are set to return to Abu Dhabi from September 1 after being kept away by COVID-19 precautionary measures.

Abu Dhabi Ports will receive vaccinated cruise visitors to the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, Noura Rashed Al Dhaheri, the authority’s managing director of cruise businesses said in a statement on Tuesday (June 22).

Coronavirus precautionary measures will be in place, including PCR testing before embarkation.

Pre-pandemic, 500,000 cruise visitors arrived in Abu Dhabi, a 46% increase compared to 2018, said the statement. The number of cruise calls swelled by 43% in 2019 to 192.

Abu Dhabi is kicking its tourism efforts into high gear as the UAE gradually eases travel restrictions for inbound and outbound travelers. 

Earlier this week the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company said it is setting up a new company, called Tourism 365, to develop the emirate’s tourism sector, with a specific aim to increase leisure visitors.

The emirate will also invest at least 30 billion dirhams ($8.17 billion) to speed up the growth of its culture and creative industries, including the building of new museums that will draw in visitors.

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