Cruise Saudi put the focus on the specific needs of cruise tourists compared to regular tourists at the recent Saudi Tourism Forum 2023, held in Riyadh between 14-16 March this year.

Cruise Saudi participated as a gold sponsor at the event, leading discussions on ways to build the offshore and onshore cruise ecosystem with the aim of positioning Saudi as a premier global cruise destination.

The agency is a 100% Public Investment Fund-owned business and has been charged with developing the Kingdom’s nascent but fast growing cruise industry, and has already established a robust domestic cruise source market.

Mashhour Bashan, Executive Director for Travel Experiences, Cruise Saudi

Cruise Saudi organised an awareness workshop, delivered by Mashhour Bashan, the Executive Director for Travel Experiences, on designing tours and experiences for cruise passengers.

He focused on the specific needs of the cruise industry and cruise tourists, such as the importance of designing tours that meet the needs of passengers, and the basic requirements in tourist destinations, expectations, challenges and the opportunities available in this new industry for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“The cruise sector is a new industry for the Kingdom, it provides specific services, and our role in Cruise Saudi is to develop and enable the private sector. This workshop is one of several workshops on developing the sector to attract 1.3 million passengers by 2035,” said Bashan.

Throughout the forum, Cruise Saudi met with a number of public and private sector companies, updating key industry contacts with the news and developments since Cruise Saudi launched in 2021.

MSC Bellissima in Jeddah

From the expansion of Saudi Arabia’s cruise infrastructure to the two successful completed seasons, Cruise Saudi’s rapid expansion in this vital sector has worked alongside the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 as an engine to drive the development of tourism, the agency said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia, with its various regions and natural, historic and heritage treasures, holds immense potential as a unique and distinctive destination on the global cruise map, and its position on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf is a particular boon for the wider Middle East cruise industry.

Fawaz Farouqi, Managing Director, Cruise Saudi, praised the forum and the cooperation of all public and private parties involved in the tourism system in providing an exceptional experience for tourists visiting the Kingdom.

He said this reflected their contribution to the goals of Vision 2030, which includes broadening the horizons of the Saudi cruise sector.