JEDDAH, 19 April 2006 — The International School of Tourism Management in Switzerland has formulated for the first time a special summer training program for Saudis working in the tourism industry, according to Federico Sommaruga, director of Switzerland Tourism for Russia, India, GCC and emerging markets. The program will begin this summer as soon as it is approved by the Supreme Commission for Tourism, he said.
A five-member group from SCT will visit Switzerland from today to give their opinion about the course, Sommaruga said, adding that the group would meet Enova Tech, a Swiss training consultancy company, in order to learn about possible training techniques and programs for the Kingdom.
The group will also meet Swiss Internet developing companies with the aim of possibly redesigning SCT’s website, he said.
This visit is part of SCT’s ongoing search for the best international tourism practices, said Dr. Abdullah Al-Weshail, director of national project for tourism human resources development at SCT.
The group will focus on tourism schools, training, education, learning materials, curriculum, evaluation systems and standards, in addition to evaluating opportunities for higher education in the tourism field at Swiss schools, he said.
Members will focus more on tourism licensing systems, hotel classification systems, quality assurance, and inspections processes, he explained.
Sommaruga said that he had visited the Kingdom last month and held talks with SCT regarding the development of bilateral tourism. “The upcoming visit of the Saudi group came because of an invitation during our recent visit,” he said.
“There is great potential for tourism in the Kingdom,” he said, adding that during his visit he saw more than 800 tourist attractions on the map that was presented to him by the SCT.
He noted, however, that the Kingdom’s tourism visa policies were an obstacle to the development of tourism in the country.
