ON BOARD A RED SEA CRUISE SHIP (Saudi Arabia) (AFP)

Sailing through pristine islands and turquoise lagoons, Saudi Arabia's premier cruise aims to expand tourism despite coronavirus fears and showcase planned megaprojects along the Red Sea.

Since August, the Silver Spirit has been offering a circuit along a wild coast that the kingdom wants to transform into a tourist paradise and an economic hub to reduce its dependence on oil.

"We want to make the Red Sea known to the whole world," Tourism Minister Ahmed al-Khatib told AFP on board the luxury boat chartered by a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company.

For four days, the boat sailed through key development sites, including the Red Sea Project, designed as a Maldives-style destination, and Amaala, a luxury tourism project.

He also anchored off two islands, including Sindala, which are part of NEOM, a $ 500 billion mega-city that will be the size of Belgium.

Cruise passengers toured the tiny coral reef-fringed island, once closed to the public, in golf carts and had dinner prepared by a Michelin-starred chef.

Guest influencers posed for photoshoots in shallow turquoise waters and white sand beaches.

- Unlimited support -

Skeptics question the viability of these giant projects in a context of declining public revenues due to a slowdown in the economy caused by the health crisis and falling oil prices.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, plans to cut government spending by more than 7% in 2021, while the budget deficit is expected to reach 12% of GDP in 2020.

But the FIP has awarded contracts worth billions of dollars for the development of NEOM, the most recent of which are to the American project management company Bechtel and to the infrastructure consultancy Aecom.

The Red Sea project has resulted in contracts worth five billion riyals ($ 1.33 billion) so far, and more contracts worth 3.5 billion riyals will follow by the next. end of the year, according to the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED).

"New projects on the Red Sea coast are advancing despite Covid-19 and low oil prices," Colin Foreman, editor at MEED, told AFP.

Mr. Khatib, who sits on the board of several megaprojects, including NEOM, said developments were moving "very fast" with "unlimited support" from senior Saudi leaders.

- Relaxed atmosphere -

Saudi Arabia launched tourist visas last year, reflecting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's desire to diversify the economy.

The Red Sea cruise has a base price of 6,000 riyals ($ 1,600) and targets domestic tourists who can afford it, in a context of stagnant tourism.

In addition to spacious suites and private butlers, the crossing offers sartorial freedoms.

The abaya (black dresses) required for Saudi women were almost entirely absent.

However, to preserve the privacy of passengers, mobile phones are placed in sealed pouches during stopovers on the islands.

And the bars on the ship only offer champagne, wine and non-alcoholic beer.

The Silver Spirit started from the city of King Abdullah, a multi-billion dollar project, near the city of Jeddah, an example of gigantic projects wanted by the Saudis.

Launched more than ten years ago as part of a diversification plan aimed at building new cities, the city seems largely empty and underlines the kingdom's difficulty in attracting investments in areas other than those of fossil fuels. .

“The political commitment to move massive projects forward seems to be there,” said Karen Young, researcher at the American Enterprise Institute.

But "spending the limited resources of the state on projects that are not focused on job creation" and on reducing the public sector wage bill "is not positive for economic diversification", a- he stressed.

© 2020 AFP