RIYADH, 6 May 2004 — The Supreme Commission for Tourism and the Presidency of Civil Aviation say they will take punitive action from May 11 against travel agencies which have not complied with SCT instructions.
The government says that a lukewarm response from agencies, even after the expiry of the April 20 deadline for the submission of employee information is hampering its plans to Saudize the travel sector.
“The SCT and the PCA have agreed to enforce penalties against agencies effective from May 11,” said Muhammad Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, general director of SCT’s National Project for Tourism Human Resources Development. “We will begin with short-term punitive measures. They will be temporary in nature until the agencies present the requested data and information to the SCT,” he said.
“However, the SCT will have no option but to impose stricter punishment if the travel and tourism agencies still fail to comply with instructions,” he warned.
The move to force travel agencies to submit the necessary data to the SCT is significant in view of the three-month grace period given to the SCT to prepare a comprehensive Saudization plan. The plan is to be submitted to the Manpower Council.
The SCT is also currently working with government agencies and the private sector to assess the overall training capability in order to ensure the smooth replacement of foreign workers with trained Saudis.
There are more than 2,100 travel agencies in the Kingdom. The task force to formulate the new Saudization strategy in the travel sector is composed of representatives from the SCT, PCA, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Ministry of Labor, General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT), Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF), Institute of Public Administration and the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
