Speaking at a forum in Riyadh to mark the unveiling of the 2022 budget, Ahmed Al-Khatib said SR500 million ($133 million) will be spent training male and female citizens in the tourism industry.

He revealed the government was preparing a road map to raise the readiness of nine tourist destinations and 42 targeted tourist sites.

Reflecting on the work of his ministry, Al-Khatib said: “We established the Tourism Development Fund, and this fund is very important to support the private sector.

“Its role is to give long-term loans at very low costs to the private sector to invest in tourism.

“In 2021 alone, the Fund financed 29 projects with a total investment of SR8 billion. These investments have commitments to create 17,000 jobs for Saudi men and women.”

Al-Khatib claimed Saudi Arabia is one of the 10 most powerful countries in domestic tourism.

The budget shows that Saudi Arabia is expecting a surplus next year for the first time since 2022.

Ministers are forecasting a surplus of SR90 billion, while total revenues for 2022 are estimated at SR1.05 trillion.

Spending is estimated to come in at SR955 billion — the lowest level since 2017.