Saudi ministry to train 100,000 young Saudi nationals to work in the tourism sector

The ministry would invest $100 million a year to teach 100,000 Saudi women and men to work in a variety of tourism-related institutions, according to Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb.

The minister stated that the ministry's objective is to increase the sector's contribution to the economy and the localization of tourism jobs to 10 percent by 2030 while attending a dialogue session on "Future trends for local content in light of Vision 2030" at the Local Content Forum in Riyadh on Wednesday.

By employing Saudi human cadres to manage and run hotels and travel and tourism businesses, the ministry is attempting to localize employment, according to Al-Khateeb, who also mentioned that some hotels employ 50% Saudis.

According to Al-Khateeb, the tourism industry is a key component of the country's economy and one of the pillars of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. He cited the massive investment projects in the industry, particularly the development of tourist destinations like NEOM, the Red Sea, Qiddiya, Diriyah, and others. These initiatives are funded in part by the business sector, with an anticipated $500 billion invested over the next 15 years.