The giant cruise ship AROYA crossed Egypt's Suez Canal on Wednesday on its way from Istanbul to Jeddah, marking its third transit in less than a year, the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) said. The vessel, measuring 335 metres long and 38 metres wide, carries about 2,300 tourists and more than 1,500 crew. Flying the Marshall Islands flag, it has capacity for 3,362 passengers and 1,620 crew. The ship is scheduled to stop at Sharm El-Sheikh and other ports during its voyage. The SCA said the transit underscored the canal's role as a hub for maritime tourism and logistics. It noted that flexible marketing policies, including fee reductions for vessels calling at Egyptian ports, had drawn 69 cruise ships between 2021 and 2024, carrying 38,000 tourists and generating about $15.8 million in revenue. Cruise tourism is expanding globally, with passenger numbers projected to reach 38 million by the end of 2025 and 40 million in 2026, according to industry estimates. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English
