A new cruise ship with the naming of an Italian ocean liner was opened last Tuesday by Dubai. The cruise will operate cruises from this Gulf Arab tourism hub.

Hamad bin Mejren, executive director of business tourism at the Dubai Department of Tourism, "Six-seven years ago, we had 10,000 cruise ship travelers. In 2009, this figure rose to 263,000 sea passengers, and we expect an increase in the coming years."

Mr. Mejren continued that a rise to 35 pct is expected to be seen in the number of cruise ship passengers visiting Dubai, also a regional trade and business centre, in 2010.

Tuesday, the terminal hosted the naming of the Italian vessel Costa Deliziosa. The terminal can accommodate four cruise ships, and as per organizers, it is the first naming of a cruise liner in the region.

Having the capacity for 2,800 passengers, the Costa Deliziosa is the newest vessel of the Italian cruise company Costa, a unit of Carnival, the world's largest cruise operator.

Cruises from Dubai, would be offered by the liner, whose interior design combines traditional Arabic and modern Italian styles.

In 2007, Dubai bought the QE2 ocean liner for a sum of $100 million to convert it into a luxury hotel.

Last month, plans to move the QE2 to South Africa were slashed by Istithmar World, the investment arm of debt-laden conglomerate Dubai World. The vessel has been named among Dubai's assets and high-profile holdings possibly up for sale.