Saudi Red Sea cruise spotlights pristine coasts and sites of tourism megaprojects the kingdom is building to diversify its economy
- A Saudi government-run Red Sea cruise offers a glimpse of the kingdom’s grandiose plans to open up tourism to diversify its sources of revenue
- It passes sites on the unspoilt coast where resorts and giant projects are meant to be built, although sceptics doubt it, citing falling oil prices and Covid-19
Sailing past pristine islands and turquoise lagoons, the first cruise ship offering Saudi tours serves a twin purpose – jump-starting tourism despite coronavirus fears and showcasing austerity-defying megaprojects planned along the Red Sea.
In August, the cruise liner Silver Spirit began offering tours along the unspoilt Red Sea coastline, which the petrostate aspires to turn into a global tourism and investment hotspot as part of a plan to reduce reliance on oil revenue. Chartered by a company owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, the luxury ship offers a window into multibillion-dollar “giga projects” that the kingdom is forging ahead with despite a sharp economic downturn.
“We are introducing the Red Sea to the world,” Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khatib said in an interview aboard the ship. “We are unlocking the value of the Red Sea.”
On a four-day cruise the ship sailed past the sites of key developments, including one designed to be a Maldives-style resort destination embracing dozens of picturesque islands, and Amaala, a luxury tourism project.
For a few hours, it anchored off two islands, including Sindala, which forms a sliver of NEOM, a US$500 billion planned megacity that is roughly the size of Belgium. Cruise passengers toured the tiny coral reef-fringed island, otherwise off-limits to the public, in golf carts and dined at a Michelin-star pop-up restaurant perched on the shore.