Cruise Saudi Aims to Boost Saudization, Empower Women in Kingdom's Growing Tourism Industry
(MENAFN) cruise Saudi, a company owned by the Public investment Fund, has achieved a Saudization rate of 71 percent since its launch in 2021. The company aims to develop the infrastructure for a full-suite cruise market in the Kingdom, with a goal of creating 50,000 direct and indirect jobs for the local workforce by 2035. This is part of the broader context of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the Economy and develop new revenue-generating industries, such as tourism.
Speaking at the Arabian travel Market 2023 in Dubai, Cruise Saudi CEO Lars Clasen highlighted the company's efforts to increase the employment of Saudis in a sector that traditionally relied on foreign employees. He also emphasized the firm's active encouragement of women's empowerment through hiring them. Currently, women constitute 34 percent of the workforce and hold managerial positions in the operations and business development departments. They also work in crucial departments such as general terminal and port services and ground operations.
Cruise Saudi's goal is to strengthen the Kingdom's tourist sector by attracting 1.3 million cruise visitors by 2035, which includes boosting the tourism sector's contribution to the gross domestic product to 10 percent. Clasen emphasized that establishing cruising as a new pillar to Saudi's rapidly expanding tourism industry is a significant undertaking.
To achieve its goals, Cruise Saudi has already developed three existing Saudi commercial ports, including Jeddah Islamic Port, Yanbu Commercial Port, and King Abdulaziz Port, with dedicated infrastructure to welcome the world's largest cruise vessels. The company has also witnessed a spurt in the number of guests during the ongoing cruise season, which began in November 2022 and is set to end in May 2023.
The efforts of Cruise Saudi to boost Saudization and empower women in the Kingdom's growing tourism industry align with Saudi Arabia's broader goals of economic diversification and development. As the country continues to work towards these goals, the growth of the tourism industry, including the cruise market, is expected to play a significant role in achieving a more sustainable and diversified economy.
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