Saudi Invests SR375m Annually on Tourism Skills for Citizens

Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb, has said that Saudi Arabia has been investing SR375 million annually to enhance the skills of its citizens in the tourism sector.

According to the minister, this initiative has already increased the rate of skilled Saudis in the sector to 40 percent, and the government is aiming to reach 50 percent. Al-Khateeb also stated that the government is working to streamline the issuance of tourism licenses, reducing the time it takes from five days to just minutes.

Speaking at the forum, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said that the year 2023 witnessed the greatest increase in history in the number of Umrah pilgrims, reaching five million pilgrims, an increase of 60 percent over the previous year. “We began preparing for the Hajj season, with the end of the last day of the last season, and we launched a center for managing Hajj projects and following up with all the relevant parties,” he said.

The Madinah Chamber, in conjunction with the Makkah Chamber and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, organized the second edition of the Manafea Forum under the slogan “An ambitious investment for a promising future vision.”

The forum aims to contribute to achieving the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the goals of the Doyof Al Rahman Program, which target to enrich the visitor experience, and reach 30 million Umrah pilgrims and five million Hajj pilgrims by 2030, in addition to empower the private sector by providing more investment opportunities, in a way that enhances the contribution of Makkah and Madinah in the gross domestic product of the regions of Makkah and Madinah.