RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Under the watchful eye of an instructor, Munira al-Rubaian spreads fresh bed linen in a mock hotel room in the Saudi capital, aiming to land a job in the desert kingdom's growing tourism sector.

The unemployed 25-year-old is one of thousands of Saudis enrolled in the state-run "Tourism Pioneers" program, which aims to prepare 100,000 job-seekers for a field that government officials insist is set to take off.

At two facilities in Riyadh, Rubaian and other trainees study tasks like welcoming hotel guests, plating food in upscale restaurants and keeping luxury suites squeaky-clean.

Others are sent abroad for short courses in countries with far more advanced tourism industries, including the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and France.

This army of newly minted bellboys, cleaners and higher-paid hospitality managers is expected to help Saudi Arabia — a famously conservative and closed -off Gulf kingdom that only opened its doors to tourism three years ago — make a positive impression on first-time visitors.

The scheme also supports the government's goal of employing more Saudis in roles traditionally occupied by migrant laborers.

The niqab-wearing Rubaian signed up for Tourism Pioneers after her own efforts to find a job at a hotel went nowhere.

She is optimistic the experience will help her get a foot in the door.

"I've had the opportunity to learn and improve my capabilities for employment," she told AFP.

"I will now have the experience and self-confidence to deal with people."

Aiming high

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's 37-year-old de facto ruler, is counting on a tourism boom to diversify the economy of the world's largest oil exporter.

In 2019, two years after Prince Mohammed became first in line to the throne, the country introduced tourist visas, but the coronavirus pandemic dashed hopes of an immediate influx.

Authorities nonetheless remain committed to their eyebrow-raising goal of drawing 30 million foreign guests annually by 2030, up from just four million last year.

That's on top of 70 million targeted domestic trips each year by Saudis and foreign residents.

Of the combined 100 million a year hoped-for tourists, officials project some 30 million will be making religious pilgrimages, largely to Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest sites, in western Saudi Arabia.