Riyadh: Her Highness Princess Haifa Mohammed Al Saud, Vice Minister of Tourism, has initiated the largest programmatic and institutional accreditation initiative. This effort is designed to enhance the quality of tourism education and training, aiming to improve the efficiency of education and training outcomes in the Kingdom's tourism sector and better connect them to the labor market.

HH emphasized that since its inception, the Ministry has been dedicated to enhancing the educational and training programs and aligning their outcomes with the needs of the current and future labor market. She noted that the launch of this substantial initiative marks a critical step towards ensuring the success of these efforts.

HH also detailed that this initiative, the largest worldwide, involves assessing the quality of 102 national tourism education and training programs throughout 2024. This assessment will be conducted in partnership with 3 organizations to measure the quality of tourism programs: UN Tourism, the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation. The goal of the initiative is to enable tourism education and training institutions supported by the Ministry of Tourism to earn both international and local accreditations and professional certificates.

The initiative aims to accomplish various short- and long-term objectives. These include 31 tourism education and training programs and institutions receiving national and international accreditation by 2024, 200 trainers and educational and administrative staff earning professional certificates to deliver new tourism programs developed by the Ministry in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization for the year 2024, and 37 Ministry of Tourism employees obtaining professional certification to manage tourism programs. Additionally, by 2025, the initiative targets 27 tourism education and training programs and institutions to achieve both international and local accreditations.

HH concluded with the statement, “We are collaborating closely with our local and international partners to fulfill the objectives of this promising initiative. This effort will elevate the competitiveness of the tourism labor market, enhance the Kingdom's status as a premier global tourism destination, develop the skills of industry workers, and present them with exceptional job opportunities.”

It is important to highlight that last June, under the "Ahluha" initiative, the Ministry of Tourism initiated the Tourism National Occupational Skills Standards in the tourism sector in both Arabic and English. This marks the first national effort to establish specialized professional standards aimed at enhancing the quality of tourism education and training outcomes and bridging the gap between supply and demand.