Prince Sultan bin Salman, Secretary General of the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (GCTA), made the call during the opening ceremony of the new Novotel Riyadh Al Anoud Hotel in the capital on Monday.
“We don’t differentiate between Saudi men and women, when it comes to providing employment,” said Prince Sultan. “In fact, a number of Saudi girls have been sent to different foreign institutions to be trained in hotel industry,” he added, and pledged to provide all support to women seeking career in this sector.
A new programme organised by the Arab Tourism Organisation in cooperation with the American University of Beirut aims to develop human resources in the Kingdom’s tourism and hotel sector. The details are being worked out with the GCTA and the programme will start in February 2009.
It will enable women to participate in the tourism sector in the Kingdom while conforming to Islamic rules and regulations.
The programme will try to allay certain misconceptions among Saudi families about the tourism sector.
