Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Cruise Saudi sets sail for $200m tourism windfall

By Shruthi Nair
  • Kingdom wants to position Jeddah as global cruise port destination
  • Cruise firm aims for 1.3m passengers by 2035
  • Cruise tourism industry worth $150bn

Cruise Saudi estimates it will contribute $200 million in revenues to the kingdom by 2035, as the Public Investment Fund-owned company develops ports for cruise passengers.

In a video interview with AGBI its chief asset development and port operations officer Miguel Reyna said: “On average, when a ship comes to the port, 35 percent of the guests go on tours. Our hope is that 70-80 percent of the passengers will go.”

Launched in 2021, Cruise Saudi’s business model revolves around positioning Jeddah as a global cruise port destination.

Three Saudi ports are capable of handling cruise liners – Yanbu Commercial Port, Jeddah Islamic Port and King Abdulaziz Port Dammam – and these have helped develop the kingdom’s cruising sector over the last two years.

With Cruise Saudi aiming to attract 1.3 million passengers by 2035, the kingdom joins its GCC neighbours in targeting the $150 billion cruise tourism industry.

Watch the full video to learn more about the company’s ambitious plans to develop the kingdom’s port city.

Latest articles

PIF's Starbucks shareholdings were cut almost by half from 6.3 million shares to 3.8 million

PIF slashes Starbucks stake as it cuts US stocks by $15bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has slashed its US equity holdings by 42 percent to $20.6 billion, including its stake in Starbucks, the global coffee chain that has suffered calls for a boycott as a result of the Gaza conflict. The latest US government data highlights funding challenges facing the Saudi giga-projects.  The filing […]

Tunisia olives

Soaring olive oil exports help Tunisia balance books

Tunisia’s soaring olive oil exports have almost doubled to close to $1 billion in just five months, helping it claw back its current account deficit.   However the increased revenues merely “paint over the cracks” and the country is still probably heading towards a sovereign default, according to an economic expert. Tunisia’s current account deficit narrowed […]

Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani attends licensing rounds for 29 oil and gas exploration blocks at the oil ministry's headquarters in Baghdad

Falling oil prices deepen Iraq’s fiscal imbalances, says IMF

Iraq’s fiscal imbalances have worsened due to significant fiscal expansion and lower oil prices, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “The ongoing fiscal expansion is expected to boost growth in 2024 at the expense of a further deterioration of fiscal and external accounts and Iraq’s vulnerability to oil price fluctuations,” the Washington-based fund said in […]

Saudi aluminium producer Talco is offering 12 million shares

Aluminium producer Talco announces Saudi IPO

Aluminium producer Al Taiseer Group Talco Industrial Company (Talco) is the latest entity to reveal initial public offering (IPO) plans in Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh-based company, which was set up in 2009, is offering 12 million shares, a 30 percent stake, on the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) at a nominal value of SAR10 ($2.67) per share. […]