The Cruise Saudi company, a 100% Public Investment Fund-owned business in the Kingdom, is preparing to participate in the four-day Arabian Travel Market exhibition ATM 2023 that will be held Monday at the Dubai World Trade Center.
It will join the most prominent decision makers and regional experts in discussing the future of the travel and tourism industry in the region and exploring ways of professional cooperation.
CEO of Cruise Saudi Lars Clasen said the Arabian Travel Market is a leading international event in the field of travel and tourism, pointing out that through its participation, Cruise Saudi aims to give a boost to the tourism sector in the Kingdom by attracting 1.3 million cruise visitors by 2035, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which has, among its goals, the tourism sector increasing to 10% its contribution to the gross domestic product.
Clasen mentioned the rapid growth of Cruise Saudi and how it supports the Kingdom's position as a prominent new tourist destination due to its strategic geographical location in the region, which may be reached by about 250 million people living in Europe, Asia and Africa in three hours of air travel to the Red Sea or the Arabian Gulf.
He pointed out that Cruise Saudi leads the development of the Saudi cruise industry in an integrated fashion and with high-level international quality.
"Since its launch in 2021, Cruise Saudi has succeeded in completing two successful seasons of cruises; its third season is still going on, he said, adding that the company is keen to introduce cruise ship passengers to various tourist destinations on the coasts of the Kingdom that have not yet been discovered by international tourists".
He also said that Cruise Saudi plans to expand with government support and partners, which enabled the company to develop a marina and passenger terminal within three ports boasting infrastructure that enables it to receive international cruise ships, namely: Jeddah Islamic Port and Yanbu Commercial Port on the Red Sea, and King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam on the Arabian Gulf.
Clasen said that the company has been seeking to boost the tourism industry in the Kingdom by attracting more tourist cruise companies to add Saudi ports among the main ports on their routes, and worked to develop more ports and cooperate with partners to provide a package of varied coastal tours that suit different groups as well as fun beach adventures.
