Boating industry cruises ahead in Dubai

Boating is a booming industry in Dubai with forecasts predicting up to fifty thousand boats to be moored within the Emirate over the next five years.

Much of this growth has been fuelled by the creation of the world’s first purpose built maritime centre, Dubai Maritime City, which will boast a variety of facilities that will assist both the private and commercial marine industry in the emirate. And with this plethora of new marine and boating developments, Dubai’s marine industry is set to grow by a massive ten per cent, ably supported by the emirate’s newly implemented infrastructure.

Dubai’s Maritime City will deliver a highly specialised environment to facilitate the integration of major maritime players from around the world, positioning Dubai as the global hub for the industry. The City will comprise six districts: Harbour offices, Harbour residences, a Maritime Centre, Academic Quarter, Marina District and the Industrial Quarter. By offering world-class infrastructure, services, regulations and excellent unrestricted open sea access, Dubai is on track to become one of the world’s leading centres for maritime commerce.

Complementing the pace of growth in the commercial sector is the acceleration in the leisure boat industry. Exhibitors at the recent Dubai International Boat Show commented that the Middle East will swiftly overtake Europe in terms of per capita boat ownership. Over 400 boats were displayed at the show demonstrating the strength of the leisure market in the region. The Marina Berth Project, part of Dubai Maritime City, will be the main supply, service and refit centre for leisure boats and yachts in the region and will provide first class facilities to accommodate the soaring number of boats.

In addition, Dubai’s cruise tourism experienced a dramatic increase in 2007. The emirate’s cruise terminal received 120,205 tourists in 2007, well above its projected figure of 105,000. In addition to the existing 3,300 m² Dubai Cruise Terminal, work is to start within a year on a second cruise terminal to handle the forecasted doubling of ship-borne arrivals in 2010. The emirate is expecting a surge in cruise tourists with 200,000 during the 2008-09 season, and 350,000 the following winter.

Dubai benefits from its advantageous position on both the Gulf and Creek, which, coupled with its year-round sunshine makes it an appealing prospect for the leisure boating and yachting markets. And with the summer opening of one of the largest waterfront developments in the region, the Yacht Club Marina within Dubai Marina, the demand for world-class berthing is clearly stronger than ever before. This alongside the ambitious island developments on Dubai's coast including The Palm trilogy, The World and The Universe will position the emirate as the leading global yachting destination of the future.

Recent marina and waterfront developments have also helped to bolster interest, demonstrated by the surge of attendees to the annual Dubai International Boat Show (footfall stood at a record 25,000 in 2008) making it one of the most prominent events of its kind in the region, and one of the fastest growing leisure marine industry exhibitions in the world.

Another of Dubai’s impressive and pioneering developments is taking place at the world’s largest man-made marina, Dubai Marina. Comprising an area of almost 5 million m² and featuring the 40 residential and hotel towers of Jumeirah Beach Residence, which are to be found amongst the 200 high-rise buildings and soaring skyscrapers dotted along 11km of stunning boardwalk.

On the western shores of Dubai, the Waterfront development will transform 1.4 billion square feet of empty desert and sea into an international community for an estimated 1.5 million people – on completion the development will be twice the size of Hong Kong island and will provide more that 70km of coastline, including the development of the 75km Arabian Canal and the 8km Palm Cove Canal.

The warm waters and gentle on-shore wind make conditions in the Arabian Gulf perfect for leisure sailing, and alongside the yachts and powerboats that fill Dubai’s marinas are traditional dhows and rowing boats now also used for what is known as ‘heritage racing’. Emirates International Open Regatta took place at Dubai International Marine Club in March this year.

And with the growth of the boating industry, the powerboat scene continues to thrill watersports fans, Dubai boasts one of the best racing squads in the world, Victory Team, who hold six Class One and four Class Two world titles. Dubai also plays host to the annual Class 1 World Powerboat Championships, which take place in December when the emirate welcomes the world’s fastest boats to its shores.

Ian Scott, Director of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing comments on the prosperity of the boating industry: “Dubai is committed to positioning itself as the region’s central maritime hub, as well as a global industry leader. And it is well on the way to achieving this with the advent of Dubai Maritime City which is making use of pioneering technology, coupled with adherence to the highest levels of environmental standards and unrivalled quality control.

“Through the extensive development projects underway in the emirate, Dubai will not only be able to provide world class maritime facilities for its residents, but through an increased berthing capacity and the delivery of excellent services, it will ensure that demand in the marine sector continues to soar.”

Consumer trends point towards an enormous growth in the maritime market in Dubai, particularly in the leisure sector and the emirate is now ideally placed to meet and drive the industry both on a regional and international scale.

For further information about Dubai, visit Dubaitourism.ae.