Dubai: Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has secured the majority of funding required to launch a new cruise fleet subsidiary, Virgin Cruises.
Earlier this month it was reported that Branson was talking to Arabian Gulf investors, including Abu Dhabi entities, to raise some of the $1.7 billion (Dh6.24 billion) needed for the new cruise company.
The British entrepreneur and billionaire told media in Dubai on Monday that “most of the money is now committed” and that it’s likely that some of funding will come from the Arabian Gulf.
Branson is already involved with Abu Dhabi government-backed investment group Aabar through Virgin Galactic.
Virgin Cruises will reportedly launch operations focusing on traditional cruise markets in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean and will be based in Miami, a Virgin spokesperson was quoted as saying earlier this month. The cruise line could start operating in 2019.
“We will be building two quite large ships from scratch and we think that the Virgin brand will work very will with cruises,” Branson said.
Branson is confident on the potential of his new cruise company and said more details will be released over the next three to four months. Virgin already offers packaged cruise deals with other cruise lines through its Virgin Holiday Cruises company.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are both heavily investing in developing their cruise tourism industry and on Sunday, cruise company Royal Caribbean announced that it will return to the UAE market in the 2015-2016 season after pulling out in 2013 due to market conditions.
Royal Caribbean’s parent company handles 22.7 per cent of global cruise passengers and takes in 21.8 per cent of global revenue, according to Cruise Market Watch.
The global cruise industry is estimated at $37.1 billion in 2014, a 2.3 per cent increase on 2013, according to Cruise Market Watch.