JEDDAH, 6 April 2008 — The Kingdom’s tourism sector will soon become the largest employer of Saudis, said Prince Sultan ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism. “The commission plays a big role in transforming this important sector into an organized and productive sector,” said the prince while addressing a graduation ceremony in Riyadh.
“The most important product of this sector is jobs. Today world tourism employs more than 220 million people and it is the largest employer of the world,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Sultan as saying.
He reiterated SCT’s plan to Saudize 81 percent of jobs in the travel and tourism sector within three years.
The travel and tourism sector will soon be governed by an advanced law, the prince said, adding that the hospitality sector would be reorganized considering its important role in attracting tourists.
The SCT chief was talking in ceremony at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh marking the graduation of the first group of 318 trainees for travel and tourism sector.
“We have been working on to transform the tourism sector into an integrated industry that would create more job opportunities for Saudi citizens,” he said.
He said the commission would continue its training programs for Saudis to meet the requirements of the tourism industry and of investors in the sector.
“We’ll train Saudis to fill at least 4,000 jobs in the hospitality sector,” he said.
Saudis are capable of taking up important responsibilities, he said, adding that Saudi doctors, bankers and pilots have proved their efficiency and excellence in their respective working areas.
Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has approved the plans for Saudizing jobs in the travel and tourism sector as well as in the hospitality sector.
The SCT — in association with the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT), the Manpower Development and other related organizations — has launched a program to Saudize five job categories in the travel and tourism sector: reservation and ticketing; sales and marketing; air cargo; tourism program designing; and customer services.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Ali Al-Ghafees, governor of GOTEVOT, highlighted the importance of the tourism sector as it offers more investment and job opportunities and supports the country’s diversification drive. “The graduation of these young Saudis is the result of cooperation between the Manpower Development Fund and SCT,” said Ahmed Al-Zamil, director general of the fund.
“The tourism sector will continue to receive our full support as we know that it has the potential to absorb the largest number of Saudi job seekers,” he added.
The 318 graduates began attending their training courses two years ago and they received intensive coaching in English language and learned various aspects of the profession.
Many of these graduates have already received job offers from travel and tourism companies, with Al-Tayyar, Al-Fursan and Kanoo taking the lead. Al-Sarh, Al-Ameeqan and International Tourism were among the largest companies in Riyadh to welcome the newly trained Saudis.
