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750,000 tourism jobs created in Saudi

October 18, 2014

Riyadh, Oct 18: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) has created permanent jobs for 750,000 employees and increased the worth of the industry to SR72 billion, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the organization, here recently.

Saudi tourismPrince Sultan quoted the statistics in response to a person who hacked his Twitter account and asked 11 questions about the performance of the SCTA.

"We don’t pretend we are perfect, and we have nothing to hide. Constructive criticism ensures success and development. We abide by the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and are prepared to answer all queries, regardless of their origin," said Prince Sultan in response to the hacker.

The SCTA later said that it organizes 250 events, and have created 750,000 jobs as at the end of 2013. It has also added new events to the tourism calendar such as car and motorcycle racing.

The SCTA said that 40,000 people attend its Saudi Alwan Forum. It has several events showcasing 1,700 exhibits, a 40 percent increase from last year. It has helped to develop more than 200 tourist locations, ports and spas in various parts of the Kingdom, and formed a team to set up mountain climbing and paragliding activities.

Through its Bare' program, it has provided opportunities for young people to learn more about artifacts. It has organized more than 50 trips for young men included diving and a sand dune skiing program.

The SCTA stated that it has created over 1 million jobs for young men. Saudization in the industry has risen from 10 percent in 2000 to 27 percent, thanks to the programs run by the National Project for Tourism Human Resource Development or Takamul.

A total of 33,819 benefited from the SCTA's vocational programs, with 76,000 employed at the end of their training. Women now make up 46 percent of the SCTA's labor force internationally.

The SCTA would soon implement the Live Saudi Arabia program, which would benefit 1 million students over the next three years.

A total of 130 companies and establishments helped to train 1,500 young people, who are now managing more than 250 establishments specializing in events.

The total value of domestic tourism spending in 2006 was SR52.2 billion, which rose to SR72 billion in 2013.

The SCTA said it has not yet been able to get all the funding it needs to develop the industry, but hopes this situation would be resolved soon. It plans to develop the National Government Tourism Development Company, and the Traditional Hotel Company to upgrade facilities.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Apr 9: The UAE Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, adopted a resolution to grant paid leave to select categories of employees at the federal government.

This move is part of a series of precautionary measures and procedures taken by the UAE government to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

The resolution stipulates that married employees of the federal government may take fully paid leave to take care of their children below the age of 16. The age condition shall not apply to people of determination, as well as in cases where a spouse is subject to self-isolation or quarantine that requires no contact with family members, upon a decision from the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The resolution also applies to employees whose spouses work in vital health-related occupations, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical jobs that require exposure to infected people, as well as employees of quarantine centres, throughout the emergency period witnessed by the country.

Pursuant to the resolution, the relevant ministry or federal authority may ask employees holding essential technical occupations to work remotely instead of taking leave.

The resolution was issued in line with the UAE government's keenness to support employees and provide them with a safe and healthy working environment, as well as to protect the health and safety of government employees and their families, during the current crisis that requires greater efforts, additional working hours, and in some cases, exposure to infected people.

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News Network
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: A heart-broken father who lost his 19-year-old son in a tragic car accident during Christmas last year has sponsored the repatriation costs of 61 Indians stranded in the UAE.

 The special flydubai repatriation flight, chartered by the All Kerala Colleges Alumni Federation (Akcaf) volunteer group, of which he is a member of, departed from Dubai to Kochi on July 25 carrying 199 passengers.

 On this particular flight, I sponsored 55 air tickets," said TN Krishnakumar, a sales and marketing director. He had lost his son Rohit Krishnakumar in a car accident, which also claimed the life of the teen's friend, Sharat Kumar (21).

"All passengers who were registered with the Indian missions were also asked to register on the Akcaf volunteer group website. Each passenger was further vetted, after which we made home visits to ensure that all the applicants were genuinely in need of financial support and repatriation," he said.

Commenting on what inspired him to dedicate himself to community work, Krishankumar said: "When a situation like this comes up, you realise there is no meaning in money. I invested everything I made into my son, and that had crashed in front of my eyes. He was a third-year medical student at the University of Manchester in the UK and had returned home for a vacation when the accident took place. Since then, I have been involved in a lot of social activities. If I do not do this, there is no meaning to my existence."

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Krishnakumar said the group has supported thousands of individuals in need of help. "We supported unemployed people with several hundred bags of grocery kits and other necessary items. We also supported Covid-19 patients by transferring them to the medical facility in Warsan, etc.," he said.

"I come from a very middle-class family. I got a scholarship to study in college, and I studied with the help of taxpayers' money. I have always wanted to give back to society. I have grown immensely in life and now is my time to give back.," he added.

Krishnakumar also sponsors the education of over 1,000 academically gifted school children in Kerala's government-aided schools. He is a life trustee at the College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Galaxy Charitable Trust and an active participant towards various educational causes.

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News Network
July 20,2020

Abu Dhabi, Jul 20: The United Arab Emirates launched its first-ever interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre at 01:58 a.m. (local time) on Monday.

"United Arab Emirates (UAE) launches its first mission to Mars, the 'Hope Mars Mission' from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center," UAE Space Agency said on its Twitter page.

The spacecraft is expected to reach Mars orbit in about 200 days from now and then begin its mission to study the Red Planet's atmosphere, WAM news agency reported.

Once it enters Mars' orbit in the first quarter of 2021, the Hope probe will mark the UAE's 50th anniversary.

The probe will travel 493 million kilometres into space in a journey that will take seven months, and will orbit the Red Planet for one full Martian year of 687 days to provide the first truly global picture of the Martian atmosphere.

The Hope probe will be the first to study the Martian climate throughout daily and seasonal cycles. It will observe the weather phenomena on Mars such as the massive famous dust storms that have been known to engulf the Red Planet, as compared to the short and localised dust storms on Earth.

It will also examine the interaction between the upper and lower layers of the Martian atmosphere and causes of the Red Planet's surface corrosion, as well as study why Mars is losing its upper atmosphere.

Exploring connections between today's Martian weather and the ancient climate of the Red Planet will give deeper insights into the past and future of Earth as well as the potential of life on Mars and other distant planets.

The Hope Mars Mission is considered as the biggest strategic and scientific national initiative announced by UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in 2014. The UAE will be the first Arab nation to embark on a space mission to the Red Planet in a journey that contributes to the international science community as a service to human knowledge.

The interplanetary mission is the first by any West Asian, Arab or Muslim majority country.

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