Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — As many as 1,640 male and female students are pursuing various tourism courses at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah. KAU’s Faculty of Tourism is in the forefront of the Kingdom’s other faculties specialized in the tourism and hospitality industry.

The faculty seeks to preserve the permanence of the Saudi tourism product and support it with investment opportunities in realization of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. This is through providing the tourism sector with the specializations needed by the labor market in light of the geographical diversity of the environment of various governorates and regions across the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

It was established in the year 1428 Hijri as an institute and later turned into a faculty in 1437 Hijri. It became an applied commercial faculty with departments in the field of tourism and hospitality.

The departments include travel and tourism, hotel and hospitality, and event and event management. It takes into account the combination of the existing and future plans between developing tourism and hospitality and the needs of the private sector so that its output caters to the needs of all specializations and provide the required qualified and trained cadres.

The faculty awards diplomas and bachelor’s degrees in various specializations of tourism, in addition to a master’s degree, which is the first of its kind in the Kingdom. It also offers many professional diplomas such as diploma in entertainment management and professional diploma in culinary arts and skills.

The faculty also awards diploma in the management of Hajj and Umrah services by providing a number of specialized scientific and practical materials in the field of Hajj and Umrah industry; management and safety of food and beverage, management, operation and environment in addition to managing and evaluating major events, international exhibitions and conferences.