Cruise Saudi Company Collaborates with DL Services Catering Architecture to Develop AROYA Cruises

Cruise Saudi Company Collaborates with DL Services Catering Architecture to Develop AROYA Cruises
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Cruise Saudi Company Collaborates with DL Services Catering Architecture to Develop AROYA Cruises

Cruise Saudi Company Collaborates with DL Services Catering Architecture to Develop AROYA Cruises

Cruise Saudi company—fully owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF)—announced that it has appointed marine catering architects DL SERVICES to develop premium catering spaces for Cruise Saudi’s new AROYA Cruises line.
DL SERVICES will collaborate with Columbia Signature F&B Corporate teams to revamp and create a layout design of all existing catering spaces on board AROYA Cruises, according to SPA.
The development will include redesigning of existing catering areas in the vessel and upgrading with the latest equipment in line with each venue’s individual concept and requirements. These catering spaces on AROYA Cruises will be designed to offer not only an inspiring premium and wide-ranging international line up of cuisine choices but will also reveal truly extraordinary culinary experiences featuring the local cultural offerings and traditions.
The latest announcement forms part of Cruise Saudi’s broader strategy to collaborate with pioneering and sector-leading vendors to guarantee that AROYA Cruises offer the highest standard of services and facilities onboard.
According to Cruise Saudi CEO Lars Clasen, "exceptional catering facilities are vital to providing quality cuisine, and the comprehensive and diverse culinary offering onboard our AROYA Cruise ships will in turn certainly improve the premium experience. We are therefore pleased to be partnering with marine catering architects, DL SERVICES, to provide state-of-the-art catering spaces on our AROYA Cruises ship".
Launched in June 2023, and designed for Saudi nationals, expatriates, and regional guests, AROYA Cruises will be tailored specifically to the interests of the Arabian market.
The creation of AROYA Cruises supports Cruise Saudi’s overall objectives of creating 50,000 job opportunities in the Kingdom and hosting 1.3 million cruise passengers annually by 2035.



Dead Sea an 'Ecological Disaster', but No One Can Agree How to Fix It

The Dead Sea has been dying for years - AFP
The Dead Sea has been dying for years - AFP
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Dead Sea an 'Ecological Disaster', but No One Can Agree How to Fix It

The Dead Sea has been dying for years - AFP
The Dead Sea has been dying for years - AFP

An abandoned lifeguard cabin, a rusty pier and mangled umbrellas are all that is left of Ein Gedi, once a spot drawing international tourists to float in the world-famous waters of the Dead Sea.

Now, this lush desert oasis at the lowest point on Earth sits in ruins beside the shrinking sea, whose highly salty waters are rapidly retreating due to industrial use and climate change, which is accelerating their natural evaporation.

The beach has been closed to the public for five years, mainly due to the appearance of dangerous sinkholes, but also because the dramatic recession of the sea's level has made it tricky to reach its therapeutic waters, known for extraordinary buoyancy that lets bathers float effortlessly.
The increasingly exposed shoreline and the sinkholes, caused by a flow of freshwater dissolving layers of salt beneath the Earth's surface, are not new.
In fact, the Dead Sea, nestled where Jordanian and Palestinian territory meet, has famously been dying for years.

Now, with war raging in the Middle East, efforts to tackle this ever-worsening ecological disaster appear to have dissolved too.

"Regional cooperation is the key... to saving the Dead Sea," said Nadav Tal, a hydrologist and water officer for the Israel office of EcoPeace, a regional environmental nonprofit that has long advocated for finding a solution.

"Because we are living in a conflict area, there is an obstacle," he said, describing how the sea has been declining more than one metre (three feet) per year since the 1960s.

- 'Ecological disaster' -

The evaporation of the salty waters in a time of rapid climate change and in a place where summer temperatures can reach upward of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) has been exacerbated by decades of water diversions from the sea's main source -- the Jordan River -- as well as various tributaries that begin in Lebanon and Syria.

The water is also being pumped out by local factories extracting natural minerals -- potash, bromine, sodium chloride, magnesia, magnesium chloride and metal magnesium -- to sell to markets across the world.

"The consequences of this water diversion is what we see around us," Tal told AFP, pointing to a nearby pier that was once submerged in water but now stands firmly on dry land.

"It is an ecological disaster," he emphasized.

Although some efforts have been made to address the Dead Sea disaster, including past agreements signed by Israel and Jordan, the wars raging in Gaza and beyond have brought regional tensions to an all-time high, meaning tackling cross-border environmental issues is no longer a priority for governments in the region.