The General Authority for Ports (Ports) and Saudi Cruise celebrated today the opening of the first cruise ship terminal in Jeddah Islamic Port, in the presence of a number of partners from the government and private sector, and a group of leaders and interested parties from different countries of the world.
This announcement comes just six months after the establishment of the Saudi Cruise Company, which was announced last January at the “Future Investment Initiative” conference in Riyadh, and comes two days before the launch of the first cruise tourism trip from Saudi Arabia for a giant ship to local and regional destinations, as the giant ship “Bellissima” departs from Jeddah Islamic Port starting from July 30 until October 30, 2021, in a series of luxury tourist trips over 3 and 4 nights, reaching Aqaba in Jordan and Safaga in Egypt.<The ceremony witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the “B” Foundation for the protection and restoration of coral reefs in the Red Sea, in addition to the announcement of an initiative to train and qualify national cadres in cooperation with MSC in all areas of the cruise industry.
The Managing Director of Saudi Cruise Company, Engineer Fawaz Faruqi, expressed his happiness with the achievements and steps achieved within a short period of time; in line with Vision 2030 and the support and guidance of the wise leadership - may God support it - pointing out that the launch of the first cruise ship station represents an important step that contributes to promoting and developing tourism trips on the Red Sea coast, and supporting the growth of the cruise industry. We accelerate the pace to achieve the ambitious targets of creating 50,000 job opportunities by 2025, increasing cruise ships, launching additional ports besides Jeddah Islamic Port, and reaching 1.5 million visitors annually by 2028.“
For his part, the President of the General Authority for Ports, Omar bin Talal Hariri, considered the choice of Jeddah Islamic Port to be the first gateway for the reception and departure of cruise ships in the Kingdom due to its strategic location overlooking the Red Sea coast and its proximity to the tourist sites and activities in Jeddah, indicating that ”Ports“ worked in cooperation with its partners to develop the infrastructure, maritime and logistics services in Jeddah Islamic Port, by launching a passenger terminal for cruise ships after its development to accommodate more than 2500 passengers in addition to allocating new berths to support the tourism sector in the Kingdom according to the highest standards in this field, part of a system that is in line with the Kingdom's tourism industry, and is part of its vision.
For his part, Pier Francesco Vago, CEO of MSC Cruises, emphasized that the launch of the largest and most modern cruise ship on the Red Sea coast is a historic step that represents a new beginning for cruise tourism in the Kingdom, expressing his pride in the partnership with Cruise Saudi Arabia and working with all partners to provide tourism experiences that meet all aspirations according to the highest international standards, looking forward to starting the first trips through the giant ship “Bellissima” and embarking on a journey of continuous successes, which is to attract tourists, provide inspiring experiences and contribute to achieving strategic objectives that are in line with the ambitions of partners in the Kingdom.

While MSC Cruises“ CEO, Pier Francesco Vago, said: ”We are honored to partner with MSC Cruises and work with all partners in the Kingdom.“