Saudi Arabia will become the launch point for a major cruise line for the first time later this year, CNN reports, with MSC Cruises operating a new series of voyages exploring the Red Sea coast of the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia is looking to make several areas along its Red Sea coast into tourist destinations as part of a significant tourism push, which figures heavily into its plans to diversify its economy away from oil as part of Vision 2030.
Cruise lines suffered during the pandemic as air travel slowed and stories of stranded passengers without a place to disembark on ships went viral.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund acquired an 8.2% stake in Carnival Corp. during the turmoil of the pandemic, and has since seen its returns soar as the company grew in value over 2020.
The voyages will start as 7-day trips, “stopping off at Aqaba for the spectacular ancient city of Petra in Jordan and calling at the port of Safaga, Egypt to see the ancient sites at Luxor. There will also be stopovers at two other Saudi ports, AlWajh and Yanbu,” according to CNN.
The cruise route is scheduled to operate from November 2021 to March 2022.
