Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd announced its first quarter results for 2013. Helen Beck, regional director of Royal Caribbean International’s Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) state that 2013 is looking positive after Q1 yielded a net income of US$76.2 million versus a net income of US$47.0m in the first quarter of last year.
“Overall, the demand environment is in-line with our expectations for the coming year,” said Beck.
Royal Caribbean International’s ship Serenade of the Seas reported a successful season for its seven-night sailings from homeport in Dubai to around the region. The Dubai Cruise Terminal handled 396,500 cruise tourists in 2011 and 420,000 cruise tourists in 2012. Giving a big push to tourism growth and the economy, numbers are projected to go up to 450,000 passengers this year and up to 500,000 passengers in 2015.
“The cruising market in the Middle East has great potential and we believe GCC nationals are now starting to discover the convenience of taking cruise vacations,” said Lakshmi Durai, executive director for Royal Caribbean Cruises in the Middle East.
European sailings are also very popular with Middle Eastern guests. Royal Caribbean International has had constant booking increases from both within the region and also from other parts of the world. The company looks forward to a period of strong growth in cruise tourism from the GCC region.
