Nadin Hassan

RIYADH: Based on Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary achievements in the tourism sector, the Kingdom is likely to achieve its targets ahead of 2030, said a top tourism official. 

During a panel at the Future Hospitality Summit held in Riyadh, Gloria Manzo, chief special adviser at the Ministry of Tourism, likened Saudi Arabia’s approach toward the development of the sector to the private sector with clear goals with key performance indicators reviewed quarterly.

She added: “We have goals, we have quarterly meetings that review our KPIs quarterly. You better be on the plan and if not, you have to explain why, so most likely it will achieve those numbers, before 2030. Absolutely!.”

Manzo noted that increasing the target indicates that Saudi Arabia is progressing faster than expected, which reflects a positive momentum in achieving tourism goals.

She said for Saudi Arabia “the sky is the limit.”  The development process in the Kingdom, she added, is supported by unprecedented levels of government investment.

“What the government is doing in this country, there’s no other example in the world. I have never seen something like this in my 30 years of career,” the official said.

She also highlighted challenges facing the tourism sector such as geopolitical issues and weather-related crises, which can disrupt operations.

The official identified the development of human resources for the sector as a challenge for which the government is taking several measures.

“We wish we could do that faster. The ministry is training Saudis abroad. We announced a (training) academy. We’re partnering with universities here. That is very important, but it will be wonderful if we can train them faster. The private sector is also helping us to train these Saudis,” she said.

Manzo also expressed optimism about more Saudi women joining the tourism industry. 

The official said interestingly the Saudi government “moves faster than the private sector” unlike any other country in the world where the latter tends to act quicker. She said small and medium enterprises require more support to keep pace with the ongoing development in the sector.

“I would say the SMEs need more support, and of course, we wish we can support them so that they can accelerate in this transition,” Manzo added.

“We’re working with them. We have a plan and the ecosystem is very structured,” the tourism official said.