The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is betting on a new wave of expansion in employment within the tourism sector in the coming years, driven by the growth of modern tourism projects and major initiatives led by the Public Investment Fund.
Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib said that the tourism sector has achieved significant job growth during the past five years, explaining: “In just five years, we have created 250,000 jobs, and we believe that we are able to repeat this number or come close to it by 2030.”
He pointed out that investments in major tourism projects such as the Red Sea and Diriyah destinations have already begun to create job opportunities, with the start of operation of some of their facilities, but they have not yet reached their full operational capacity.
According to the Vision 2025 report, the number of workers in the tourism activities sector in the Kingdom exceeded 1.2 million employees during the year 2025, in light of the rapid growth witnessed by the sector within the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.
The Kingdom also recorded tourism revenues amounting to $42.6 billion last year, topping the Arab countries in this indicator, with a goal of raising the contribution of tourism to the gross domestic product to 10% by 2030, compared to about 3% in 2019.
In the same context, CEO of the Red Sea International Company, John Pagano, said that the tourism sector represents about 10% of the global economy, but it was not sufficiently exploited in the Kingdom previously, noting that current projects are beginning to change this reality.
He explained that the company opened 14 resorts and hotels in the Red Sea and Amala destinations, with plans to increase the number to 25 facilities during the coming period, which requires hiring thousands of workers.
He added that the company has graduated about 1,200 young men and women through training and qualification programmes, with another 400 expected to graduate soon, as part of efforts to prepare national cadres to support the operation of new tourism projects.
The Red Sea, Diriyah, Al-Ula and Amala projects are among the most prominent pillars of Saudi Arabia’s strategy to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil, by developing a global tourism sector that contributes to creating broad job opportunities and attracting investments.
