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PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0221/01 0741329
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 151329Z MAR 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8922
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 0217
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1311
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1383
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6274
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 JEDDAH 000221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI; 
PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU; AMMAN FOR WHITTLESEY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/12/2015 
TAGS: BTIO ECON KICR KISL KWMN PREL SA SENV
SUBJECT: PREPARATIONS FOR TOURISM IN WESTERN SAUDI ARABIA 
 
Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller, for 
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
¶1.  (C)  SUMMARY.  On February 26, Consulate staff met with 
the new General Manager of the Supreme Commission for Tourism 
(SCT) in Jeddah.  The General Manager offered an ambitious 
vision for developing tourism in Jeddah and attracting 
business, religious, and recreational visitors.  The SCT 
plans significant development of infrastructure, training, 
and event management.  A large recreational enclave is 
contemplated to serve visitors.  Private Saudi investment is 
already being committed in addition to government budgetary 
support.  The SCT is actively interested in obtaining advice 
and support from U.S. businesses and consultants.  The 
General Manager expressed interest in pursing World Heritage 
status for Saudi sites and supports environmental 
conservation.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  (U) On February 26, Jeddah Pol/Econ Chief and Pol 
Assistant paid a call on Emad M. Mugharbel, the newly 
appointed Executive Manager of the Supreme Commission for 
Tourism (SCT), Jeddah Governate, in the Commission's 
temporary offices on the grounds of the Jeddah Sheraton 
Hotel. Mugharbel offered his vision for the expansion of 
tourism in Jeddah, as well as enumerating obstacles to 
developing this sector and plans for overcoming them. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:  EMAD M. MUGHARBEL 
 
¶3.  (C) Emad M. Mugharbel is in his mid-forties.  An 
aggressive modernizer, Mugharbel referred to himself as a 
radical reformer.  He has held a number of increasingly 
important positions in business and as advisor to senior 
Saudi officials.  He was hand-picked for his current position 
by Governor of Jeddah, Prince Mishal bin Majid bin Abdulaziz. 
 His previous posts were: 
 
May 2004-Feb. 2006  Chief Executive Officer 
                    Jeddah Marketing Board, 
                    Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
2002-May 2004  Deputy General Manager, Kingdom Holding, 
                    TCCL, Kingdom Center 
2000-2002  General Manager, GTC Olayan 
1998-2000  General Marketing Manager, Arab Radio and 
                    TV (ART) Cairo 
1994-1998  General Manager, Marketing Management 
                    Consultants, Charisma 
1992-1994  Assistant Genral Manager, Savola Europe, 
                    AVOLA GROUP 
1988-1992  Proctor and Gamble, Saudi rabia 
Mugharbel was educated at the University o California, 
Riverside and graduated from Arizon State University, Tempe. 
 
THE SUPREME COMMISSIO FOR TOURISM COMES TO JEDDAH 
 
¶4.  (U) The Suprem Commission for Tourism was established by 
Royal Decree Number 9 on April 16, 2000.  The SCT was founded 
as an independent body to coordinate and develop all facets 
of tourism in Saudi Arabia.  The Commission is headed by 
Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz and is funded by the 
national government.  Surprisingly, Jeddah, the most 
cosmopolitan area in Saudi Arabia, is one of the last regions 
to open an SCT office.  Until now, many of the duties 
assigned to the SCT were performed by the Jeddah Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and its affiliate, the Jeddah 
Marketing Board (JMB), where Mugharbel was General Manager. 
 
SCT PLANS FOR JEDDAH 
 
¶5.  (U) The role of SCT in Jeddah, in Mugharbel's view, is to 
coordinate and lead activities between the government and the 
private sector to promote travel and tourism in Jeddah. 
Mugharbel recognizes that tourism is a potentially important 
source of revenue for Jeddah and Saudi Arabia.  He also 
acknowledges that tourism is a labor-intensive field which 
could offer work to a significant number of Saudis. 
 
TARGET MARKETS:  SAUDIS AND GCC, HAJJ AND UMRAH, AND NON-ARABS 
 
¶6.  (C) Mugharbel's primary target market is domestic 
travelers, among which he includes residents of the Gulf 
states, as well as Saudi Arabia.  He noted that Saudi 
 
JEDDAH 00000221  002 OF 004 
 
 
tourists spend billions annually when traveling abroad, 
especially in the summer.  He hopes to divert some of this 
revenue to Jeddah.  A second major market is travelers from 
other Muslim countries.  As he succinctly observed: "with 
hajj and umrah there are millions coming here anyway."  He 
wants to offer them other attractions while in Jeddah. 
 
NON-MUSLIM MARKET 
 
¶7.  (C) Although clearly subordinate to the preceding two 
markets, Mugharbel is also interested in encouraging travel 
by non-Muslims and residents from non-Arab states, and he 
intends to tap portions of this market almost immediately. 
For this particular market segment, in addition to the 
business traveler, he intends to focus on limited, but high 
value interests such as diving and eco-tourism.  These narrow 
markets have a number of attractive aspects:  they are 
generally high profit-margin activities; they can be 
conducted in a relatively restricted area along the coast, 
where they won't impinge on the more conservative populations 
in the Kingdom, and they are in geographical proximity to 
other tourist areas, such as Sharm el-Sheikh, and have access 
to a major port-of-entry. 
 
OBSTACLES 
 
¶8.  (C) Mugharbel candidly admitted that serious deficiencies 
in infrastructure and information are fundamental obstacles 
to capitalizing on Jeddah's potential.  He complained that 
the tourism sector in Jeddah is roughly 15 years behind where 
it should be.  The infrastructure in Jeddah is woefully 
behind major tourist facilities throughout much of the world: 
there are insufficient first-class hotels, few conference 
facilities, and public transportation is non-existent.  The 
lack of trained personnel is another major problem.  No 
education or training in serving tourists' needs is available 
in the Kingdom.  Information on events and facilities is not 
accessible to travelers.  Finally, visas for foreigners not 
on pilgrimage or sponsored business trips have been 
unobtainable. 
 
DEVELOP JEDDAH "BRAND" 
 
¶9.  (C) Mugharbel is anxious to rectify these deficiencies. 
He is aggressively pursuing development plans, apparently 
with substantial support from the Governor.  His first 
objective is to "brand" Jeddah in partnership with major 
businesses and identify and develop events which could be 
exploited.  He confided that Prince Mishal is so 
enthusiastic, he would like to stage an event every week. 
Less ambitions, perhaps than the Governor, Mugharbel is 
planning to have at least 30 major events every year in 
Jeddah.  He has taken the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) as a 
model and intends to develop other conferences which will 
attract global business interests.  He offered the example of 
conferences on chemical engineering or petrochemicals 
attracting specialists from throughout the world.  (Note: 
While attending the recent JEF, the Consul General overheard 
two prominent businessmen talking and one commented that 
Jeddah needed an event like JEF every month.  End Note.). 
 
RECREATIONAL TOURISM 
 
¶10.  (C) To complement business events, the SCT plans to 
promote recreational tourism.  This would provide pilgrims 
and business travelers with additional attractions to 
patronize while in Jeddah and offer a destination for the 
purely recreational tourist group or individual.  SCT is 
focusing on specific, narrow market segments.  Eventually the 
Commission hopes to exploit the archeological and historical 
sites abounding in Western Arabia, but the initial target 
will be diving and eco-tourism.  In an effort to promote 
diving, the Commission is engaged in making a film "Jeddah 
Underwater" to promote the submarine attractions of the 
region. 
 
 
"TOURIST CITY" IN PLANS 
 
¶11.  (C) As a major attraction in the future, Mugharbel 
revealed that the Kingdom is planning to build a "tourist" 
city to complement the planned King Abdullah Economic City 
 
JEDDAH 00000221  003 OF 004 
 
 
(KAEC) near Yanbu.  This recreational complex, which is 
expected to encompass several square kilometers, is planned 
to be constructed along a stretch of pristine beach in the 
vicinity of the town of Leith, not far from the site of KAEC. 
 
 
VISITOR VISA EXPECTED BEFORE SUMMER 
 
¶12.  (C) Historically, obtaining visas had been an 
insuperable barrier for prospective travelers to Saudi 
Arabia.  However, Mugharbel noted that recent changes in 
government policy for business travel had obviated the need 
for a sponsor, and now business travel is possible without 
hindrance, and he expects the government to allow issuance of 
general visitor, or tourist, visas before this summer. 
 
HOSPITALITY TRAINING SCHOOL SEEN FOR ARABIA AND AN EQUAL ROLE 
FOR WOMEN 
 
¶13.  (C) Mugharbel wishes to establish a training institute 
for tourism-related activities in Jeddah to prepare local 
people for jobs in the industry.   He considers the 
participation of women in this field a non-issue.  When the 
matter was broached by Pol/Econ Chief, he described a meeting 
with the Governor a few days earlier in which the latter had 
said "I don't care if it is a man or a woman, show me the 
product." 
 
U.S. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 
 
¶14.  (C) Although U.S. tourism is likely to be a small and 
probably distant prospect, Mugharbel sees a major role for 
U.S. assistance.  The immediate opportunity for U.S. 
businesses would be to provide expertise and support.  The 
tourist offices operated by many U.S. city and state 
governments are a model for what he wants the SCT to do in 
Jeddah.  He expressed a willingness to work with FCS to find 
potential partners.  When asked about his needs, he said 
"What I would really like is for you to send every event 
planner in the country."  In a more practical vein, he 
suggested that FCS or other entities sponsor specialized 
delegations of 40-50 persons that have specific interest or 
expertise in event management, hospitality training, 
facilities operations, eco-tourism and maritime activities 
who would then meet with a similar number of Saudis. 
 
POSSIBLE SUPPORT FOR WORLD HERITAGE SITE DESIGNATION 
 
¶15.  (C) Mugharbel was receptive to the idea of seeking World 
Heritage status for sites in Jeddah Governate, especially the 
Red Sea. (Note:  Natural habitats would be a less 
controversial choice for this designation, in contrast to the 
sensitive, cultural monuments, such as Mecca or pre-Islamic 
sites.  End note). 
 
PARTNER IN CONSERVATION 
 
¶16.  (C) Mugharbel spoke warmly about the need to conserve 
Saudi natural resources, particularly the Red Sea.  He 
offered an example of what small expenditures could do to 
preserve this resource.  He noted that local maritime 
traffic, fishing boats, etc. damage the delicate coral reefs 
tens of thousands of times each year, just by the act of 
anchoring.  A modest investment in mooring buoys could 
alleviate much of this damage.  COMMENT.  Mugharbel obviously 
recognizes that Saudi Arabia's natural resources are a 
valuable tourist resource.  His assistance could be sought to 
support conservation initiatives in tandem with the 
Presidency for Meterology and the Environment (PME), The 
Regional Organization for the Conservation of the Environment 
of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden (PERSGA), or similar 
organizations. 
 
HEJAZ-NEJD DISTINCTION 
 
¶17.  (C) In the course of the conversation, Mugharbel like so 
many other Hejazis made a joke about the radically different 
way Nejdis and Hejazis look at the world, to the detriment of 
the "backward" Nejdis. 
 
PRIVATE INVESTMENT IS ALREADY INVOLVED 
 
 
JEDDAH 00000221  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶18.  (C) Our conversation was briefly interrupted by a 
telephone call from Jack Barnett, a former colleague of 
Mugharbel's from the JMB.  Barnett is being backed in the 
formation of a company, to be called Saudi Events Company, 
which will undertake to organize major business and 
recreational events in Jeddah.  The company is being 
capitalized at $25,000,000 by influential Saudis. 
 
¶19.  (C) COMMENT.  Mugharbel appears committed to developing 
tourism in Jeddah and has the backing of influential Saudis. 
Tourist traffic would contribute to opening Saudi Arabia to 
outside influences and provide badly needed employment to 
young Saudis.  SCT sponsored activities could also offer 
commercial opportunities to U.S. businesses.  Realistically, 
security considerations and cultural restrictions make Saudi 
Arabia an unlikely destination for general U.S. tourism; 
however, a booming economy makes Jeddah an important stop for 
U.S. business people.  American Muslims and sophisticated and 
adventurous travelers could conceivably also be attracted to 
the area.  END COMMENT. 
Gfoeller