Saudi minister says projects like Neom will create 1m jobs… somehow
Saudi Arabia may be reeling from the coronavirus crisis, falling oil revenue and, perhaps most importantly, international condemnation over its abysmal human rights record – but that has not stopped tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb making bold statements about the lure of the kingdom to international visitors.
Al-Khateeb announced on Tuesday, 27 October, that Saudi Arabia can expect to have one million jobs in the tourism and service sector in ten years as part of its already insecure Vision 2030 – the project to move the kingdom away from oil dependency and towards renewable energy, tourism and high-tech megaprojects.
Neom, the $500bn megacity project Saudi’s rulers maintain will be ready by 2030, is a key part of this, and the kingdom’s PR machine insists it will be a world-leading destination for the international super-rich.
With this new promise of a million jobs, some might argue that it is a dream built on a fantasy.
Al-Khateeb’s new strategy, launched at Salwa Palace in Diriyah, involves 15 programmes designed to train Saudis to take up jobs in the tourism sector.
“The strategy represents an important step aimed at developing human capital in the tourism sector, with the aim of making the Kingdom a prosperous and attractive destination for tourists, by creating sustainable job opportunities for male and female citizens, and achieving basic goals,” Al-Khateeb said.
He added: “Developing the skills of young Saudi men and women in the tourism industry will be realized in accordance with the highest international standards, and by making use of global partnerships through the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the rest of the international partners in the universities and tourism academies.”
International universities and tourism academies might want to think twice about subjecting their students to the brutal world of Saudi employment. Migrant workers have recently been found kept in horrific conditions due to the coronavirus crisis, where they are beaten by guards, starved, left to die of disease and forced to sleep in cramped conditions without adequate medical care.
The tourism workers would not be allowed access to trade unions or even human rights monitors. They would most likely, like most migrant workers, be treated like slaves.
“This reinforces the labor market’s need for these specializations in the giant tourism projects that the government is currently building in the Red Sea, Qiddiya, Diriyah Gate, Neom and others, as well as tourism projects in the private sector that are supported by the strategy of developing human capital with highly trained competencies,” Al-Khateeb added.
What Al-Khateeb did not address was the increasingly desperate situation projects like Neom are in. They are lacking international investment, oil income and support from potential partners, who are terrified of being associated with a country perhaps most famous for its human rights abuses.
As things stand, it would be a miracle if Neom is anything other than an embarrassing failure. Al-Khateeb has just made a prediction that is doomed to become yet another failure.
Read more: NEOM: Towards reform without social justice
