RIYADH: Cruise Saudi, a Public Investment Fund-owned company tasked to develop the infrastructure for a full-suite cruise market in the Kingdom, has managed to reach a Saudization rate of 71 percent since its launch in 2021, said a senior executive. Speaking on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market 2023 in Dubai, Cruise Saudi CEO Lars Clasen explained his company’s efforts to increase the employment of Saudis in a sector that traditionally relied on foreign employees. “Cruise Saudi plans to create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in Saudi Arabia by 2035, benefiting the local workforce,” Clasen told Arab News, adding that the firm has also actively encouraged women’s empowerment by hiring them. Clasen pointed out that women constitute for 34 percent of his workforce, holding managerial positions in the operations and business development departments. They also work in crucial departments such as the general terminal and port services and ground operations. The cruise company also aims 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. “Establishing cruising as a new pillar to Saudi’s rapidly expanding tourism industry is a significant undertaking,” said Clansen. He added that the company is operating within the broader context of Saudi’s Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy and develop new revenue-generating industries such as tourism. 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 also witnessed a spurt in the number of guests during the ongoing cruise season, which began in November 2022 and set to end in May 2023. “We reached 192,714 passengers from 100 different nationalities visiting Saudi aboard seven cruise ships,” Clasen added. Furthermore, Cruise Saudi recently collaborated with high-end hotel brand Aman to build a 183-meter ultra-luxury yacht aimed at passengers with high net worth. The vessel will have 27 suites and would be ready for cruising by 2027.