Saudi to nationalise 80% of jobs in Makkah’s hotels, resorts

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development has reportedly revealed plans to Saudise 80 per cent of jobs in the holy city of Makkah’s hotels and tourist resorts by the end of the year.

The measures follow an ambitious nationalisation scheme in the mobile sector, where the ministry announced plans to nationalise 50 per cent of positions by Ramadan and 100 per cent by September.

Read: Saudi steps up mobile shop inspections as deadline nears

Saudi Gazette cited Ministry of Labour and Social Development’s director for its Makkah branch, Abdullah Bin Muhammad Al-Olayyan, as saying the nationalisation plans in the tourism sector were being carried out in cooperation with the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage.

He said Saudi employees would be required to be “disciplined, punctual and diligent, according to the publication, and called on Saudi youth to register for the positions on ministry websites.

Elsewhere, Saudi publication Arab News said plans to Saudise the telecoms industry had led to an 83 per cent decline in rents for some mobile shops from SAR 3,000 to SAR 500 per month.

The publication said investors were withdrawing from the sector and only 25 per cent of shops were still open in some markets.