The Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel provides some of the best five-star facilities in the capital city.

One of the main priorities of the Supreme Commission for Tourism is the promotion of Saudization in the tourism industry. The organization would like to see Saudis occupy 80% of jobs in the sector. According to its Secretary General, Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, training will be provided for workers in the travel industry, as well as immigration and customs officials, in order to mobilize this strategy.

The Intercontinental Hotel Group is the biggest operating chain in Saudi Arabia, with hotels in all the major cities. As such, it is one of the largest employers in the tourism industry. While a lack of vocational training institutes in the kingdom means that the company cannot rely on Saudis as much as it would like to, around 30% of its staff is Saudi.

“We employ about 560 to 590 nationals,” says Atieh Hamarneh, Director of Operations for the Intercon-tinental Hotel Group Saudi Arabia Central & East.
“I would personally like to see more Saudis in the food and beverage, housekeeping and other service areas,” he adds. There are also plans to train and replace supervisory level employees with locals within the company.

ATIEH HAMARNEH Director of Operations at Saudi Arabia Central & East

Quality of service is the hotel industry’s prime asset, and the Intercontinental is no exception. “Customers constantly compliment us on our staff,” comments Mr. Hamarneh. “This is what we are trying to build on with our Saudi trainees. Over the transition period of the Saudization process we hope to entrust our business to them.”

The Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel, set in 100 acres of land, provides some of the best five-star facilities in the capital city, only five minutes from the business district and 30 minutes from the airport. “We are the only hotel in town with large gardens. We also have great outdoor facilities such as the golf course and the swimming-pool area.” While these attributes help to set the Riyadh Intercon-tinental apart from other upscale hotels, there is always scope for more initiative and innovation. Making the golf course more profitable and promoting weekend holiday packages within the group are just some of the ideas in the pipeline.

There is also room for further investment and expansion. Several projects, including the construction of a new hotel in Al-Khobar, are already under way. “We are willing to expand if we find the right partners,” says the director of operations. In effect, with the current economic climate favoring investment in real estate and the services area, the prospects in Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector are looking better than ever.