The economic and oil capital of Congo-Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, welcomed its first cruise ship carrying foreign tourists on Wednesday, signaling the country’s efforts to diversify its economy.

The SH Vega, with a Finnish flag and carrying 150 tourists from various countries, docked in Pointe-Noire, marking the first time a cruise ship has visited the central African country. The arrival of the ship was hailed as a sign of a new era of economic diversification by some officials.

Lydie Pongault, the minister of tourism, said the arrival of the cruise ship “inaugurates a new era in the history of tourism in our country. The concept of cruise tourism is now a reality in the Republic of Congo.” The SH Vega, owned by Swan Hellenic, offers excursions on the African continent, including exploring African crucibles and visiting Africa’s Atlantic Islands of Empire.

The Congolese government has included tourism as one of the six pillars of the National Development Plan, along with agriculture, digital technology, and crafts, to move away from its reliance on oil. Didier Sylvestre Mavouenzela, the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Pointe-Noire, said, “Tourism serves as a vector to boost all the other sectors: transport, the hotel industry, handicrafts.”

Pointe-Noire, with its numerous transport infrastructures, economic dynamism, and cosmopolitanism, is well-positioned to become a popular seaside resort. However, Alain Koua Ngoudou, the port commander, noted that the country “still has a lot to do” from a tourism point of view. Congo is the third-largest oil producer south of the Sahara, with an estimated production of 350,000 barrels per day.