Cruise Saudi, the company driving the development of the cruise industry in Saudi, has received the Best New Business Model Award at the 2021 Tourism Innovation Summit, according to a press release. 

Cruise Saudi was recognized during the second annual Tourism Innovation Summit (TIS). TIS took place between November 10 and 12 in Seville, Spain, bringing together more than 5,000 face-to-face attendees from over 37 countries as well as more than 4,500 virtual attendees.

The award highlights Cruise Saudi’s success in developing a brand-new pillar for Saudi’s growing tourism industry in line with Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s plan to diversify its economy, according to a statement.

Since its launch in January 2021, Cruise Saudi has been working to develop the cruise business, coordinating partnerships with international cruise lines, building Saudi’s first cruise terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port, mobilizing the infrastructure, manpower, and systems required to host global cruise lines, and launched an inaugural summer season – all in record time.

Cruise Saudi was nominated for the Best New Business Model alongside two other finalists, – UpStay, an automated hotel booking upsale platform, and Sharify, a collaborative real-time events map.

Speaking on the achievement, Fawaz Farooqui, Managing Director of Cruise Saudi, said: “I am pleased to see Cruise Saudi’s work over the last few months recognized by the global tourism and travel industry. We extend our appreciation to the many international and domestic bodies and Government entities who came together to bring to life cruising in Saudi, along with our partners from the cruise lines. We look forward to future collaborations and seeing more and more cruise lines and cruise passengers discover the wonders of Saudi and the Red Sea.”.