Saudi Arabia increases wage support to 50% for tourism sector jobs
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has raised wage subsidies for local workers in the tourism sector from 30 percent to 50 percent, in a strategic push to expand employment opportunities for Saudi nationals and reduce reliance on foreign labor.
The initiative, part of the Employment Support Program by the Human Resources Development Fund, was unveiled by the Ministry of Tourism in coordination with other government agencies.
It extends financial support to 43 tourism-related professions and is designed to enhance the appeal and sustainability of careers in the sector.
According to the Saudi Press Agency, the program aligns with the Ahlaha initiative — the ministry's national workforce empowerment plan — which seeks to train and integrate Saudi citizens into the tourism industry.
The updated wage support is expected to encourage more private sector involvement in national workforce development and marks a significant step toward achieving the goals outlined in the Kingdom's National Tourism Strategy, which aims to create 1.6 million jobs by 2030 as part of the broader Vision 2030 economic diversification agenda.
'The step aims to raise the percentage of national employment in the tourism sector, while ensuring job sustainability and stability for Saudi workers,' the SPA report stated.
The decision underscores ongoing efforts by the Ministry of Tourism and its partners to empower Saudi men and women in tourism-related roles and increase Saudization rates across the industry.
Latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics show that by the fourth quarter of 2024, employment in the tourism sector grew by 4 percent year on year. Saudi nationals comprised 25 percent of the workforce — or 242,073 employees — while expatriates accounted for 75 percent, totaling 724,458 workers. The Riyadh and Makkah regions led the sector in employment numbers.
In a related move, authorities announced in April that 41 key tourism roles, including hotel managers, travel agency directors, and tour guides, will be exclusively reserved for Saudi nationals starting April 2026. The decision is part of continued efforts to localize critical job functions and strengthen the domestic workforce.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
32 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
US Embassy in Qatar advises citizens to ‘shelter in place'
The US embassy in Qatar has advised American citizens to 'shelter in place' until further notice. In an email sent to citizens in the Gulf country and seen by Al Arabiya English, the embassy said: 'Out of an abundance of caution we recommend American citizens shelter in place until further notice.' The United States had issued a 'worldwide caution' security alert on Monday for citizens abroad amid rising Israel-Iran tensions. The statement advised Americans to 'exercise increased caution' and warned of 'potential demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad.' The State Department also noted the disruptions in air travel and occasional closure of airspace across the Middle East due to the Israel-Iran conflict. Developing
Argaam
an hour ago
- Argaam
GACA issues May report on airport, airline punctuality
The General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) released its monthly report on the punctuality of Saudi airports and national carriers for May 2025. The report measures performance based on departures and arrivals occurring within 15 minutes of the scheduled time and complements GACA's other monthly assessments of service quality at airports and airlines. Among international airports with more than 15 million passengers annually, Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport Riyadh's ranked first with a 89% compliance rate. In the category of international airports with five to 15 million passengers annually, Dammam's King Fahd International Airport topped with 88% compliance. As for international airports with two to five million passengers per year, Tabuk's Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport (TUU) led with a 91% compliance rate. AlUla International Airport took first place in the fourth category of international airports with less than two million passengers annually, with a 96% compliance rate. Meanwhile, for domestic airports, Tarif Airport led with 100% compliance. The following table breaks down the on-time departure performance of Saudi airports in May 2025: Compliance with Departure Times Category Airport Current Month Previous Month Int'l Airports (>15 mln passengers annually) King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah) 89% 78% King Khalid International Airport (Riyadh) 89% 90% Int'l Airports (5-15 mln passengers annually) King Fahd International Airport (Dammam) 88% 87% Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Medina) 86% 72% Int'l Airports (2-5 mln passengers annually) Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Tabuk) 91% 83% King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Jazan) 91% 90% Abha International Airport 88% 91% Int'l Airports (<2 mln passengers annually) AlUla International Airport 96% 88% Neom Bay International Airport 95% 94% Al-Jouf International Airport 93% 84% Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Qassim) 92% 86% Prince Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Yanbu) 91% 74% Hail International Airport 91% 92% Arar International Airport 90% 90% Taif International Airport 88% 82% Najran International Airport 85% 90% Al-Qaisumah International Airport 84% 87% Al-Ahsa International Airport 84% 93% Domestic Airports Turaif Airport 97% 100% Sharurah Airport 93% 75% Wadi Al-Dawasir Airport 93% 100% Bisha Airport 92% 94% King Saud bin Abdulaziz Airport – Al-Baha 91% 99% Al-Dawadmi Airport 89% 75% Al-Qurayyat Airport 81% 83% Rafha Airport 77% 73% Saudi Airlines (Saudia) topped national carriers in terms of compliance to arrival and departure flights, with 90%. Meanwhile, flynas came in second with 89% for compliance to arrivals and 91% for departures. National Carriers' Compliance to Arrival/Departure Times Carrier Arrivals Departures Current Month Previous Month Current Month Previous Month Saudia 90% 89% 90% 89% flynas 89% 86% 91% 91% Flyadeal 90% 87% 92% 91% The report showed that the Jizan-Jeddah route and Jeddah-Abha route topped domestic routes in terms of compliance at 95%. Compliance of Top five Domestic Routes* Route Departure Compliance in Current Month Departure Compliance in Previous Month Jizan to Jeddah 95% 86% Jeddah to Abha 95% 94% Dammam to Jeddah 94% 92% Jeddah to Jizan 94% 93% Riyadh to Abha 94% 96% *Selected from the 20 busiest routes. Internationally, the Riyadh-Amman route topped with a 97% compliance rate, followed by the Riyadh-Dubai route (94%). Compliance of Top Five International Routes* Route Compliance of Departure Flights Current Month Previous Month Jeddah to Abu Dhabi 97% 92% Jeddah to Dubai 96% 81% Riyadh to Amman 95% 97% Riyadh to Abu Dhabi 94% 92% Riyadh to Bahrain 94% 94% *Selected from the 20 busiest routes. GACA indicated that cancelled flights are excluded when calculating the compliance rate. The actual time is calculated when the aircraft starts moving (push back from the stand) and when it stops moving (on stand with brakes on).
Argaam
an hour ago
- Argaam
PIF establishes first commercial paper program
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced the establishment of its commercial paper (CP) program, adding a new source of funding to its existing instruments. The program, which allows CP issuance through offshore special purpose vehicles, is comprised of two sub-programs, a US CP program and a Euro CP program, the Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund said in an emailed statement to Argaam today, June 23. The program is rated P-1 by Moody's and F1+ by Fitch, the highest possible ratings for such an initiative. CP issuances enhance PIF's short-term financing flexibility and complement its long-term capital raising efforts. CP is a common cash management tool in global financial markets, and the establishment of this program by PIF reflects its agile capital raising strategy. PIF's medium term capital-raising strategy is built on diversified funding solutions that include a range of instruments, such as bonds, sukuk and loans. In October 2022, PIF was the world's first sovereign wealth fund to issue a green bond including the world's first century green bond. This was later followed by PIF's inaugural sukuk issuance priced at $3.5 billion.
