JEDDAH, 27 April 2008 — Saudi Arabia will be one of the top three growth markets for Jazeera Airways in the next five years, said the airlines CEO, Marwan Boodai.
“Our ambition not only complements, but stems from the Kingdom’s master plan for increasing the annual number of visitors to Saudi Arabia from 17 million in 2007 to 45.3 million in 2020, and we believe Jazeera Airways can be one of the integral partners of this plan,” Boodai said while addressing a gathering of Saudi aviation and tourism sector in Riyadh recently.
The Supreme Commission of Tourism (SCT) is working to increase tourist flow to Saudi Arabia up to 13.1 million by 2020, based on a growth average of 3.1 percent annually. Boodai commended the work of the SCT by saying, “The work of the Saudi Commission for Tourism is very encouraging and shows a determination to meet those targets.
“Today we see Saudi Arabia mobilizing to stimulate the planned growth as it leads the way from airport facelifts, infrastructure developments, and cultural festivals, to the recent decision to issue multiple-entry visas. And we are confident that we can work together on attracting more visitors to the Kingdom from the Middle East and the rest of our network,” he said.
Smriti Singh, communications director of Manning, Selvage & Lee Public Relations, told Arab News: “Jazeera Airways today already has two hubs in the Middle East offering low fares to millions of people. Boodai’s announcement is a reflection of tremendous growth that has taken place in Saudi Arabia in the last couple of years.”
The airline, based in Dubai and Kuwait, flies to 26 non-stop destinations and considers Saudi Arabia to be a key catalyst for growth in coming years.
When asked if the airline would recruit its own employees into the Kingdom or would rely on the hiring of local talents at its future operations in the country Singh replied, “Jazeera Airways believes in hiring the best possible talents and does not consider recruitment on the grounds of nationality. However, it believes local talents bring added value to Jazeera Airways and enables it to better serve its customers.”
