The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned company, Cruise Saudi has officially joined the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) as its executive partner, during the annual CLIA Diamond Partner Lunch at Seatrade Cruise Global.
CLIA is the leading authority of the global cruise community, promoting the success of its members by advocating, educating and boosting their common interests. The association aims to provide a unified voice to the industry.
With the new membership in the association, Cruise Saudi will be able to join more than 50 cruise lines, 13,000 global travel agencies and 50,000 travel agent members and the other 95 percent of the world’s ocean-going cruise capacity bodies. Further, the company will get the opportunity to attend networking events, build relationships with industry stakeholders and to connects with the global cruise sector.
Fawaz Farooqui MD – Cruise Saudi
“We are proud to announce our membership of CLIA, one of the most prestigious industry trade bodies. We look forward to actively contributing to the association’s events and forging productive partnerships with its vast network of members that will help us advance our goal of developing the cruise industry along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coastlines. In line with Vision 2030, Cruise Saudi supports the diversification of the Saudi economy and drives the growth of the local tourism sector by showcasing the country’s nature, culture and heritage to domestic and international cruise passengers.”
Cruise Saudi’s membership in CLIA reflects the company’s ongoing commitment towards positioning Saudi Arabia as a premier cruise destination. Within just a few months of its inception, the company has already made strong progress, taking Saudi’s cruise industry from non-existent to facilitating the operation of some of the only ships to sail this summer.
The PIF-owned company has already established partnerships with major cruise lines, with MSC Bellissima and Scenic Eclipse in operation sailing the Saudi coastline for the summer season.
Mr. Mark Robinson, chief commercial and operations officer of Cruise Saudi said “Having been a previously engaged Diamond Partner, it gives me pleasure to be a partner once again with CLIA. The whole team at Cruise Saudi look forward to working with Kelly and all her team to establish CLIA in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
