Doha: Qatar’s 2023/2024 cruise season which commenced last year is reaching its culmination this April as five additional ships are scheduled to dock at Doha’s Grand Cruise Terminal, located at the Old Doha Port.
The most recent arrival at the port was MS Hamburg, which made its maiden call to Qatar on March 10, carrying 263 passengers and 145 crew members. Operated by Plantours Cruises and flying the flag of the Bahamas, MS Hamburg measures 144 metres in length, and 21.5 metres in width, and accommodates 400 passengers along with a crew of 170 members.
Scheduled to dock at the Grand Cruise Terminal on March 31 is MSC Virtuosa, a Meraviglia-Plus-class cruise ship owned and operated by MSC Cruises. Built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in France, MSC Virtuosa is the second ship in its class and sister ship to MSC Grandiosa.
Following closely on April 1, Seabourn Encore, renowned for its luxury offerings, will grace the terminal. With 300 suites and dimensions of 690 feet in length and 92 feet in width, Seabourn Encore represents the pinnacle of luxury cruising.
Also docking on April 1 is AIDAprima, operated by AIDA Cruises and sailing under the flag of Italy. AIDAprima, measuring 300 metres in length and 37.6 metres in width, boasts 18 passenger decks and 1,643 staterooms, accommodating over 3,300 passengers.
Wrapping up the season, Queen Mary 2, a British transatlantic ocean liner, is scheduled to dock on April 5, followed by Artania on April 25. Artania, chartered by Phoenix Reisen since 2011, was built for Princess Cruises by Wärtsilä in Finland and exudes elegance and sophistication.
Qatar Tourism’s 2023/24 cruise season is expected to welcome a total of 79 cruises and 350,000 passengers, surpassing the previous season’s figures. This surge in cruise tourism underscores Qatar’s commitment to enhancing its tourism sector and positioning itself as a premier destination on the global stage.
Chairman of Qatar Tourism, H E Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, earlier stressed the strategic importance of cruise tourism in realising Qatar’s vision of becoming a leading global destination.
Looking ahead, projections from Statista, a German online platform that specialises in data gathering and visualisation, suggest significant growth potential for Qatar’s cruise market, with revenue expected to reach $11.77m by 2024. With an increasing number of users and a shift towards online sales, Qatar’s cruise market is poised for continued expansion and evolution in the years to come.
“The revenue is also projected to experience a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 16.35%, which will result in a projected market volume of $21.57m by 2028. Furthermore, the number of users in the cruise market is expected to reach 19.89k users by 2028. The user penetration in this market is expected to increase from 0.44% in 2024 to 0.71% by 2028. With an average revenue per user (ARPU) of $0.99k, the market is expected to generate 29% of total revenue through online sales by 2028,” it explained.
