Thanks to recent efforts and initiatives launched by Saudi Arabia authorities, women now make up 54 percent of people working within the Kingdom's tourism sector. The announcement was made by the Kingdom's Minister of Tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb, during the fifth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) held on October 26.
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The figure is a momentous achievement for women in Saudi Arabia, indeed a significant increase from 22 percent in female participation from 2019 according to Arabian Business. As Saudi Arabia continues its push to grow its cultural and tourism sector, there is no doubt there will be even more opportunities for both women and men in the upcoming years. In a quote by the Saudi Gazette, Al-Khateeb stated that “Saudi Arabia will witness a huge wave of growth and many initiatives will be launched in the near future in this sector, as it is considered one of the largest investment areas in the region.”
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The Kingdom is expected to attract over 100 million tourists by 2030, which will contribute to annual revenue outside the oil sector, but also empower women in the workforce. The development is in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030. Currently, there are ongoing plans to get more women into the tourism sector. In 2020, for instance, the National Center for Tourism Human Resources Development trained 9,000 women through its various programs, and was said to train a further number of 25,000 women, plus 1,400 tour guides, by the end of that year.
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According to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the number of women in Saudi workforce rose to 33 percent by 2020, an increase from 16 percent in 2016. This growth followed sweeping reforms by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, designed to help women find employment in and integrate better into the workforce, as well as to nurture an environment for female empowerment. The reforms were described as the biggest improvement in women's rights in the Kingdom according to the World Bank's Women, Business, and Law (WBL) 2020 report.
