Right: Today’s exceptionally young Saudi population will move through the 2030s into prime earning, family and business-trav- el years
aviation and large-scale project delivery – has the potential to become an export in its own right. Saudi companies investing in or operating tourism assets overseas would add a new dimension to the country’s place in global travel. THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE GROWTH Human capital will determine how far that opportunity travels. Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategy targets 1.6 million sector jobs by 2030. By 2023, more than 241,000 Saudis were already working in tourism, while hospitality localisation had reached 39%. The Tourism Pioneers programme was established to develop the capabilities of 100,000 young Saudi men and women in hospitality, tourism and travel. And the employment story continues well beyond the Vision 2030 horizon. WTTC forecasts that Saudi Arabia’s travel and tourism sector will employ more than 3.6 million people by 2034, equivalent to around one in five jobs in the country. The training ecosystem is scaling alongside it: by September 2025, more than 649,000 tourism training opportunities had been delivered across Saudi Arabia. Saudisation is moving deeper into the industry too. A phased programme covering 41 tourism professions runs through 2028, including hotel management, travel agencies, tourism development, guiding, hospitality and sales. The first phase introduced localisation rates of 50%, 70% or 100% across different roles. A broader skills infrastructure is taking shape around the industries PIF is developing. Its azm workforce development programme is designed to create a pipeline of technically skilled Saudis for PIF investments, portfolio companies and their ecosystem partners. Training is tailored to employers’ future skills requirements and is 80% hands-on, while participating employers commit to providing jobs to successful graduates. For learners, programmes are fully funded
and employment is secured before training begins. It is an employer-led approach that links skills development much more directly to the jobs and industries Saudi Arabia will need as its new economic sectors mature. The PIF now includes a dedicated Tourism and Hospitality programme within azm, combining practical hospitality training with internationally aligned curricula and preparing participants for immediate employment and longer-term career growth. After 2030, the opportunity will be to convert localisation into long-term careers and leadership. Revenue management, destination strategy, sustainable operations, aviation, digital distribution, events and hospitality management will require increasingly sophisticated skills. Saudi Arabia will be developing that talent as the global travel industry itself faces a potential workforce shortfall of more than 43 million people by 2035. A LEGACY THAT KEEPS WORKING Sustainability belongs to the same long-term calculation. Red Sea Global intends to achieve a 30% net conservation benefit across its ecosystems by 2040. The Saudi Green Initiative’s 10-billion-tree roadmap explicitly enters a second implementation phase from 2030 onwards, while the national net-zero horizon extends to 2060. These dates make legacy tangible. The hotels, airports, event venues and destinations created during Vision 2030 will be judged for decades on the economic opportunities they generate, the environments they protect and the communities and careers that develop around them. The year 2030 will show how far Saudi Arabia travelled in 14 years. The decade after it will be about sustaining those gains, exporting capability and compounding their value – through visitors arriving, Saudis travelling, businesses expanding and Saudi investment taking an increasingly international view.
“WTTC forecasts that Saudi Arabia's travel and tourism sector will employ more than 3.6 million people by 2034”
96 | SPOTLIGHT RIYADH
Made with FlippingBook Digital Proposal Creator