The Kingdom's tourism sector will create 46,000 jobs annually for Saudis, Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), announced here, Saturday, adding that currently 26 percent of tourism jobs are held by Saudis. In an opening speech of the 1st Forum of Furnished Housing Units, the Prince emphasized the importance of the establishment of the Tourism Investment Company for launching projects and providing tourist sites for investors, noting that the Company will not be competitive with the private sector but will support it. He expressed his pleasure over the existing partnership between the tourism sector and businessmen and investors in the Kingdom. On Friday, Prince Sultan was briefed on the progress of the tourist development projects of Al-Hada and Al-Shafa in the province of Taif. The project is supervised by the SCTA and its partners, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and the Taif Municipality. After viewing a presentation on the current status of the project and its future goals, the SCTA chief meet with the project development team. During the meeting, Prince Sultan highlighted the importance of the project, which was based on directives of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to develop the economic and tourism potential of Taif and return it to its status as the Kingdom's premier summer tourist destination.
