RIYADH, 9 March 2004 — More travel agencies were raided yesterday and foreign workers manning them detained as part of the Kingdom’s ongoing enforcement of the sector’s partial Saudization. “Some offices of Al-Tayyar Travel Group and Fursan Travel and Tourism were raided this evening,” said Rashid Al-Mugaid, general manager of United Saudi Travel Agents (USTA) here yesterday.
Al-Mugaid could not say how many foreign workers were detained. Nasser Aqeel Al-Tayyar, chairman of Al-Tayyar Travel Group, confirmed to Arab News that one Tayyar travel agency in the Rabwa District was raided and a member of his staff was detained “although a substantial number of Saudis work there.” A senior executive of Fursan Travel also confirmed the news of the raid.
The raids come despite a public outcry over heavy-handed arrests last week during which several expatriate workers were detained for 48 hours and had their heads shaved.
In the first phase, travel agencies were to replace all frontline ticketing and reservation staff with Saudis. It was unclear why the authorities arrest expatriate workers rather than employers who are breaching the regulations.
“The whole travel industry at least in Riyadh is in turmoil and confusion over the raids,” said Al-Mugaid, adding that the USTA, an organization of 17 major travel companies, is planning to submit a petition to Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, and Riyadh Governor Prince Salman “seeking their immediate intervention.”
All the Asian embassies contacted by Arab News remained tight-lipped when asked as to what plans they had for their detained nationals. None of them appear to have any rehabilitation plan for returnees.
“Foreign missions should open channels of communication with Saudi officials on the issue,” travel industry sources say. “Nobody is against Saudization, but those working in the travel sector are definitely against the raids and the humiliation with which it is being enforced.”
Industry sources are also worried that a flawed nationalization policy will cost them a great deal of money.
According to a study, the private sector in Saudi Arabia has spent more than $24 billion on tourism projects and travel and tourism companies over the last few years.
Senior executive Ashlyn Sena said the ongoing government plan will affect Indians in particular because they represent some 80-85 percent of the workforce in the 2,800 travel agencies in the Kingdom.
“It will render 150,000 Indian workers jobless in the foreseeable future,” said another senior executive. Saudi Arabia has planned to generate 2.3 million jobs for Saudis over the next 20 years, mainly by reducing reliance on expatriate workers.
The Kingdom wants to reduce the number of foreign workers to 20 percent of its total population of around 23 million within the next 10 years. It has also insisted that the number of people from any one foreign country should not exceed 10 percent of the total foreign manpower.
At present there are about seven million foreign workers and their dependents living and working in the Kingdom. Foreigners are employed in virtually all sectors, with only 500,000 Saudis employed in the private sector.
