Cruises as a gateway to land tourism

26-09-25

The cruise industry is showing that a voyage at sea is not merely a maritime holiday but also a springboard for deeper land-based tourism. Recent data presented during the Connections Cruise Arabia conference in Dubai reveal that roughly seven out of ten cruise passengers later return as land tourists, clear evidence that this travel model complements—rather than competes with—traditional tourism.

At the event, Andy Harmer, Managing Director of CLIA UK & Ireland, emphasized that cruise itineraries offer travelers an appealing first taste of multiple destinations, making it likely that many will later return to explore those places in depth. “The evidence is clear,” he stated. “Cruise guests often use a voyage as a way to ‘sample’ a destination, and a significant majority subsequently come back for a land-based holiday.”

This phenomenon carries particular weight in the Middle East, where governments and tourism authorities are investing heavily in port infrastructure and air connections to attract more cruise lines. Harmer pointed out that these findings offer strong justification for such investments: cruise passengers are not fleeting visitors but potential long-term travelers with a high likelihood of returning to destinations first discovered during a voyage.

Representatives of cruise companies at the panel reinforced this catalytic effect. Anna Gregori, Vice President of Brand, Marketing, PR and Customer Experience at Celestyal Cruises, stressed that their product strategy is designed to maximize destination immersion. This includes overnight stays in Dubai and extended port calls across the Gulf. By enabling guests to spend more time ashore, she explained, the company increases the likelihood of those travelers returning for longer land-based vacations.

Similarly, Angelo Capurro, Executive Director at MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys, highlighted that one of cruising’s greatest attractions is the opportunity to visit multiple destinations on a single trip. That experience, he noted, motivates many guests to plan extended land stays in cities such as Rome, Naples, or Barcelona after first discovering them by sea.

This emphasis on cruises as a driver of return tourism is especially relevant in the Gulf region, where Dubai has welcomed nearly one million maritime visitors over the past two years, and Saudi Arabia is planning to build ten new ports along the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf.

For tourism policymakers, the message is clear: cruise guests should not be viewed as transient visitors but as an integral part of the wider tourism ecosystem. As Harmer put it, “Cruising builds confidence in a destination; once travelers experience it as part of an itinerary, they are far more likely to return.”

This “cruise as entry point” model offers multiple advantages. It enables destinations to showcase their cultural, historical, culinary, or natural attractions in an initial encounter, turning that first visit into the beginning of a longer relationship. By recognizing this potential, local authorities can design strategies that integrate maritime arrivals with compelling and accessible land offerings, thereby maximizing the economic and social impact of each visit.

In sum, the new study and the insights shared at Connections Cruise Arabia strengthen the view that cruise tourism is not simply a competitor to land-based tourism but a strategic ally. Destinations that invest in seamless sea-to-land connectivity, optimize the visitor experience during port calls, and create incentives for repeat land travel stand to capture a growing source of loyal and recurring demand. Far from being just a destination in itself, a cruise can serve as the perfect prelude to longer and more meaningful land-based journeys.

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