Tourism can create more jobs for Saudis: SCTA chief

Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), yesterday inaugurated a workshop for employment of more Saudis in the tourism sector and said about 26 percent of employees in the sector are Saudis.
Labor Minister Adel Fakeih and Director General of Human Resource Development Fund Ibrahim Al-Moaiqel attended the workshop that discussed the challenges facing training and employment of Saudis in the sector.
“Tourism jobs account for eight percent of total employees in the Kingdom in 2011. According to studies conducted by SCTA in association with the Labor Ministry, the tourism sector can create more jobs for Saudis,” he said.
Prince Sultan said by 2015, the tourism sector would create more than 1.1 million jobs for Saudis. However, he pointed out that the creation of new job opportunities would depend on implementation new tourism projects across the country.
He estimated the total value of tourism projects in the Kingdom at SR 290 billion, including railway projects.
He called for the establishment of a tourism company and a tourism fund to implement major tourist projects like the Red Sea tourism development project.
In a similar statement, Fakeih described the tourism sector as a major job creator and commended SCTA’s efforts in employing a large number of Saudis in the sector.
“We have agreed to set up a working team to study generation of new jobs in the sector and work out a new mechanism for employment of Saudis in the sector,” he said.
Fakeih said his ministry had presented a number of proposals to SCTA to Saudize jobs in the sector. Earlier, the minister gave a presentation on his organization’s efforts to Saudize jobs in various sectors, especially in the tourism sector.
The workshop was attended by representatives from the travel and tourism sector, hotels and furnished apartments, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, King Saud University and Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.