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Local versus Foreign Workers in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry

A Saudi Arabian Perspective

College of Industrial Management at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, amasadi{at}kfupm.edu.sa

Joan C. Henderson

Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, ahenderson{at}ntu.edu.sg

For the past thirty years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has relied heavily on immigrant and expatriate workers in many industries, most notably hospitality and tourism. Growing unemployment among Saudi nationals, however, has caused the government to implement a policy of Saudization, which mandates that expatriates are to be replaced by local workers. The implications for the hotel and tourism industry are twofold. First, immigrant workers have been called on to fill many jobs for which the pay is too low for local residents or jobs that nationals would prefer not to do. Second, the hotel industry has long relied on expatriate managers for technical expertise, which now must be transferred to Saudi citizens.

Key Words: foreign workers • hospitality industry • tourism industry • labor localization • Saudi Arabia

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