The Saudi tourism sector has generated revenue of SR70 billion and has contributed 6.5 percent to the country's GDP growth, said Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Al-Jehani, Vice President for Marketing and Media in the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Al-Jehani said the number of tourism facilities in Saudi Arabia has reached 40,000 which together have provided employment to 445,000 Saudi nationals. Al-Jehani was speaking on the eve of a forum organized by the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM) that opened here earlier this week. “We are talking about a tourism industry that has generated revenue of SR70 billion,” he said quoting a report by the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS), an arm of SCTA. Al-Jehani, who is also head of the STTIM Steering Committee, said the theme of this year's forum, “Tourism and employment”, distinctively focuses on employment strategies in the tourism sector. The country's tourism industry, he said, has been playing a role in the development of the national economy. During the previous two years, the forum was instrumental in developing better understanding, cooperation and awareness among tourism industry partners as reflected by the increasing cultural side of Saudi tourism, he said. Al-Jehani said that the forum is one of the SCTA's initiatives to support and enhance the pursuit of tourism in the Kingdom. It is also an important occasion that showcases tourism investment opportunities in the Kingdom, he added. “The event has become one of the most important tourism exhibition events in the region that aims at developing the tourism industry and tourism investment, as well as offering a platform to participants to discuss prominent issues that concern the tourism and travel sector. It also provides a proper environment for the leaders of the tourism and travel industry,” he said. Al-Jehani said the tourism sector is set to create a number of job opportunities for Saudi nationals, a key concern and mission of the SCTA. “Saudi tourism has an economic weight and is one of the most important sectors in the country in terms of generating job opportunities for nationals,” he said.
