RIYADH, 30 March 2006 — Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), announced that the Kingdom will establish three colleges of hotel management with the cooperation of the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training and a British tourism institution.
According to Prince Sultan, the National Strategic Tourism Development Plan aims to construct 43 colleges to train people to work in the tourism industry over the next 20 years.
He also said that the training for the tourism industry would be among the new subjects approved for government scholarships for Saudi students being sent to study abroad.
Prince Sultan has signed an agreement specifying these points with Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Angari.
The two sides will also seek ways of cooperation in scientific and educational research.
“Preparing Saudi citizens to work in the tourism industry and for the job opportunities in that sector are among the commission’s main priorities,” Prince Sultan said after signing the agreement.
“The tourism industry in the Kingdom is considered among the best sectors for providing jobs,” he added.
He said that according to the agreement signed, both parties would cooperate in human resource development in the tourism sector. He said that the ministry would include tourism majors in its scholarships for Saudi students according to market needs. The scholarships for tourism majors will be for Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D degrees.
“God willing, such students will be able to work anywhere in the world,” he said.
Prince Sultan lauded the ministry, saying that it was among the “most cooperative institutions” with SCT, mentioning that the ministry had already approved the construction of a Tourism and Archaeology College in King Saud University which will be opened in the first semester of next year.
The SCT had already signed an agreement with the Ministry of Labor to bring about 80 percent Saudization in the tourism sector with the cooperation of travel and tourism agencies within the next three years.
Commenting on cooperating with Saudi universities, Prince Sultan said that SCT was currently cooperating with Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah as well as the Ministry of Haj for the implementation of Saudization in the sector referred to as “Tourism After Umrah.”
“In addition, we are also working with King Abdul Aziz University on implementing Saudization standards in the tourism industry and with King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals to implement Saudization in tourism recreational areas,” he said.
Dr. Al-Angari said that several specialized colleges in the travel and tourism industry would be opened in the Kingdom in the near future in line with the agreement signed with SCT.
