RIYADH, 18 March 2004 — Saudi authorities have suspended the campaign to enforce Saudization, which led to the detention of several travel agency employees in raids during the last fortnight. Rashid Al-Mughaid, general manager of United Saudi Travel Agents (USTA), and Dr. Nasser Aqeel Abdullah Al-Tayyar, chairman of Al-Tayyar Travel Group confirmed that the crackdown has been halted, adding that the travel agencies have been given a “period of grace” to cut foreign staff and Saudize jobs.

Dr. Nasser told Arab News that “instructions are being sent by the Ministry of Interior to different governorates to stop the raids. This has been made possible due to the efforts of Prince Sultan ibn Salman, chief of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) which is now the licensing and regulatory authority for travel agencies in the Kingdom.”

Of the 2,800 travel agencies operating in the Kingdom, many were affected by the Saudization campaign, especially in Riyadh. The cumulative loss caused by the Saudization-related crackdown on expatriates is estimated to exceed SR100 million according to industry sources.

Asked about assurances given by the travel agencies in return for a “period of grace” from the government, Dr. Nasser said: “The details are being worked out. The authorities and travel agencies need to sit together to map things out. There will be certain areas which will be 100 percent Saudized; whereas some jobs will be partially Saudized within a certain timeframe. We have nearly three years to implement the proposed plan.”

Dr. Nasser did not provide details of the proposal put forward by the travel agencies to the SCT. He said that the Ministry of Interior is also investigating the cases of detained workers who were humiliated and had their heads shaved. (See Page 2)

Al-Mughaid said: “SCT is the official entity which the travel agencies will be working with in future to work out how to Saudize jobs in the travel sector.”

Al-Mughaid renewed his commitment to Saudization saying it is a part of the industry’s responsibility to the nation. Mohammed Qaiser of Naba Travel and Tourism (GSA of Indian Airlines) said: “All travel agencies were open for business on Wednesday. Foreigners were told by their sponsors to open agency outlets.”

The SCT wants to generate 2.3 million jobs for Saudis over the next 20 years in the travel and tourism sector.