Tourism Ministry, Saudi Red Sea Authority Launch ‘Seas of Excellence’ to Boost Coastal Tourism

Esraa Elsheikh July 23, 2024

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Tourism Ministry, Saudi Red Sea Authority Launch ‘Seas of Excellence’ to Boost Coastal Tourism

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism has cooperated with the Saudi Red Sea Authority and launched an outstanding training program titled “Seas of Excellence” to promote the tourism services, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Under the auspicious of the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb, the launching ceremony highlighted that the new program would adopt the best practices worldwide in order to offer exceptional and luxurious coastal tourism experience.

The ministry announced that the program is offered for the first time on board the European Cruise.

Under the supervision of Umm Al-Qura University, the program obtained the accreditation of the British University of Plymouth and Dale Carnegie.

The program aims primarily at providing workers in luxury coastal resorts and travel agencies with the necessary professional skills to ensure extraordinary experiences for visitors.

Furthermore, it stands as a testament to the efforts of the Ministry in collaboration with the Saudi Red Sea Authority to enrich the coastal tourism experiences.

Hospitality Sector Investment Initiative

The Ministry has recently collaborated with the Ministry of Investment to launch the Hospitality Sector Investment Initiative to enhance both tourism and hospitality facilities all over the Kingdom.

The landmark initiative comes within the framework of the Tourism Investment Program themed “Invest in Saudi Arabia and Prosper in Tourism”.

Moreover, it contributes to raising the capacity of tourist hospitality facilities in tourist destinations, providing memorable tourist experiences.

The ministry plans to collaborate with various sectors to seek and attract private investments to the hospitality sector, amounting to approximately SAR 42 billion, with revenues of about SAR 16 billion on the Kingdom’s gross domestic product GDP by 2030.

Accordingly, these investments are anticipated to provide up to 120,000 additional job opportunities by 2030 in such destinations.

The Ministry’s cooperative initiatives with leading partners and government sectors reflect its commitment to promote the investor’s journey which paid off and led to a notable reduction in sector-related annual government fees by approximately 22%.

During 2022, Saudi welcomed over 93.5 million tourists, with approximately 77 million domestic visitors and 16.5 million international visitors.

In 2023, Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector underscored remarkable resilience, with inbound spending surpassing $37 billion accompanied by significant growth in hotel infrastructure.

As a result, the sector has revised its 2030 target to 150 million visitors, up from the initial 100 million.

With an ambitious aim of emerging as a prominent global travel destination and one of the most frequented countries worldwide, Saudi Arabia is pursuing an accelerated path through these initiatives expecting momentous growth in the upcoming years.