JEDDAH, 4 September 2003 — Travel agents have cast doubt on a recent Supreme Commission for Tourism study which finds that there are no Saudis employed in travel agencies.
Mahmoud Attar, public relations manager at Attar Travel Agency, told Arab News the findings could not be accurate because the government required all travel agencies to hire Saudis in compliance with the National Project for Training and Employment.
The part of the project related to the travel and tourism sector was launched a year ago and was established as a joint training program between Saudi Arabian Airlines and travel agencies. The government and the travel agencies share the costs of training the applicants.
“It’s a one-year program, and the trainees have to pass three qualifying exams and then go for a job interview at the travel agency where they were trained,” said Muhammad Al-Safh, the director of the training program.
“The problem is that some travel agencies refuse to cooperate; either they will not pay their share of the costs or they will not hire graduates on completion of their training,” Al-Safh told Arab News.
“We need their support and cooperation in order for the program to succeed. The travel agencies benefit because they receive 75 percent of the bonuses paid to the trainees by the government and 50 percent of their salaries,” he said.
Attar said that the Attar Travel Agency had hired 10 of the 21 Saudis it trained. “That is 15 percent of our staff and the number is increasing; they work hard and go out of their way to do the job.”
Another problem is that some applicants complain about low pay. According to Attar, “summer jobs offer SR1,200 and salaries start at SR2,500, but if you work hard, you’ll earn more.”
Another problem, he admitted, is that some of the trainees are lazy. “They don’t want to do any field work or ground handling services at the airport. They want to have a job in an air-conditioned office where they can sip tea.”
