- RIYADH: Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), discussed various new Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) initiatives with the organization’s director general Ahmed Mansour Al-Zamil and its training director Mohammad Al-Abd Al-Hafiz.
“A number of issues were discussed, including HRDF's efforts to enhance training and employment,” SCTA said on Tuesday.
Al-Zamil proposed that Saudis in the tourism sector be sent for training in other countries so that they may gain more experience in tourism training and education.
“When the Saudi trainees come back to the Kingdom, they would in turn train other employees in the local tourism sector,” he said in a statement.
With well-trained staff, he added, the local tourism sector would help prop up the economy.
Prince Sultan lauded Al-Zamil's proposal and suggested that both the SCTA and HRDF study the feasibility of sending staff in the local tourism sector for training abroad.
He also suggested that they select the best countries for the trainees.
In an earlier report, the SCTA said that the tourism sector had helped maintain solid national economic growth amidst the protracted global financial crisis.
The tourism sector generates around SR52 billion in annual revenues, with export earnings from international travelers and tourism services expected to bring SR239 billion from 2019.