Aroya Cruises is backed by Cruise Saudi, part of the PIF sovereign wealth fund
Saudi Arabia’s first-ever homegrown cruise line AROYA Cruises has signed a three-year Gold Sponsorship deal with the local Saudi Arabian football club Al Nassr as it makes a major play for the local Saudi cruise market.
A signing ceremony for the agreement was held at Al Nassr Summer Camp in Portugal, with AROYA Cruises saying the deal would foster synergies between the two entities and unlock mutual benefits.
Al Nassr is one of the most popular football clubs in Saudi Arabia. It was formed in 1955 and has won nine Saudi Premier League titles, six King’s Cup crowns, as well as the Crown Prince’s Cup, the Federation Cup, and the Saudi Super Cup.
AROYA Cruises is targeting the local Saudi Arabian source market
The football club became even more popular with the Saudi public in May this year when it signed Cristiano Ronaldo, who now captains the team.
As the official sponsor of the club, AROYA’s logo will be prominently displayed on the upper chest area of Al Nassr Football Club’s jersey, while the cruise line and club will also conduct joint promotional campaigns for three years, starting from the 2023-2024 season.
The campaigns will focus on linking Al Nassr’s stars and fans with the immersive cruise experience, designed and tailored to reflect the AROYA brand values of inspiration, enrichment, generosity and respect, according to the cruise line.
“We are delighted to announce our Gold sponsorship of Al Nassr Football Club,” said Lars Clasen, CEO at Cruise Saudi. “This partnership allows us to align the excitement of remarkable performances witnessed on the football pitch with the remarkable experiences we will offer at sea.”
“Together, we aim to create unforgettable and exclusive moments for Al Nassr’s players, and football-loving fans and families through showcasing this new element of tourism in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
AROYA Cruises will operate the former World Dream (renamed Manama)
“We are so happy today, we will start a great story with AROYA Cruises. They will be one of the iconic tourism destinations around the world. Which goes well with Al Nassr strategies to achieve Vision 2030 goals,” said Ahmed AlGhamdi, Al Nassr FC CEO.
AlGhamdi was referring to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from oil. One of the key industries in that effort is tourism, with cruise tourism forming a key part of the overall strategy.
Saudi Arabia aims to attract 1-million cruise tourists in the coming years and is rapidly building out its cruise infrastructure with new cruise terminal projects in key destination ports, and of course the launch of AROYA Cruises, which will be the first domestic cruise line in the Arab world.
AROYA will play a key role in proving the viability of Saudi Arabia as a cruise destination and cruise source market, encouraging more cruise lines to not only call in Saudi Arabia, but also homeport on its Red Sea coast.
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