The
preferred focus for publicity is the global operation, the five star service,
and the awards for quality. Fair enough, the accomplishment of growing a company
in seven years from nothing to the first global cruise operation is quite an
amazing accomplishment. Star Cruises was incorporated as an initiative to develop the Asian Pacific region as an international cruise destination. Mission accomplished. The company essentially established the cruise industry there from scratch, directing tourism traffic all along the Chinese and Southwest Asia coasts, as well as the many island archipelagos. Asian holiday makers have learned a new value-for-money and exciting vacation alternative. Simultaneously, the new cruise industry in Asia increased the influx of tourists from around the world to visit the many exotic oriental destinations which can be accessed by sea.
Last year Star took a giant step forward by its purchase of Norwegian Cruise Lines, with its routes in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and South America. The fleet now numbers 21 ships with over 21,000 berths. With five mega-cruise liners now on order, Star/NCL will have 26 vessels offering over 35,000 berths. Star does indeed seem to have devised a successful business formula.
T.J. Tan talks enthusiastically about his company’s plans for the Middle East. “We intend to complete a truly global network, so we wanted to be the first cruise company to establish a homeport in the Gulf. One of our objectives is to funnel customers into our Asian Pacific operation, and the other is to start the cruise industry here, just as we built the business in the Far East.
“There are lots of fascinating destinations within sailing distance of Dubai. In June we experimented with several overnight cruises to Khasab in Musandum in north Oman before shutting down for the summer months. When we start up again in the autumn season, we’ll consider voyages further south to Muscat and to Yemen. We started off with one of our smaller ships here in Dubai because we knew that the whole concept of cruising is new out here. In several months though we’ve built up a client base more rapidly than we thought possible, so we’ve now decided to bring in one of our larger capacity liners with up to a thousand berths. That’s going to be exciting.”
Definitely the Department of Tourism would second that notion, but what does the local hotel industry think about the new kid on the block? Is Star seen as competitor or collaborator? Several of the big five star hotels were surveyed, and surprisingly they unanimously welcomed Star into the tourism fraternity of Dubai.
Rahim Abu Omar is the General Manager of the exclusive Metropolitan Palace Hotel in Deira district of Dubai, part of the Habtoor Group. He spoke enthusiastically about the new venture. “Everyone in Dubai’s tourism sector can only welcome the growing diversity of attractions. We’ve already been contacted by some of the cruise ships that arrive in town after long voyages to book their disembarking passengers for several days.Star Cruises actually basing itself in Dubai is a fascinating new development, not just for our city but for the whole Gulf. They’ll have to attract customers not just from tourists, but from local residents also. Right in front of our eyes Dubai is developing into a mature tourism market with a fascinating diversity of attractions. So we’re happy to welcome Star.”
The Cruise to Nowhere pulled into port the next morning. At disembarkation, several of the passengers had already donned their suits and ties to go directly to the office. An all night cruise from here to nowhere except the wide sea and a lot of fun, that’s quite a tale for morning coffee gossip. Even if no one believes you, at least it’s more entertaining than just another traffic jam on the way to work.