Saudi Arabia’s Aviation Sector Fuels Economic Growth and Job Creation
Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector contributes significantly to the Kingdom’s economy, with a $53 billion impact and support for 958,000 jobs, according to an upcoming report.
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The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) revealed that the Saudi Arabia’s aviation sector is playing a very important role in the growth of the economy. It specifically highlighted that civil aviation contributes $20.8 billion through direct aviation activities and another $32.2 billion via the tourism sector, providing 241,000 jobs in civil aviation and about 717,000 other jobs in tourism.
Vision 2030 and Strategic Advances
Aligning with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, these contributions are detailed in the first edition of a report on the state of the aviation sector, which will be introduced at the Future Aviation Forum 2024.
This event, under the patronage of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will run from May 20 to 22 and is themed “Enhancing the Level of Global Connectivity.” The report underlines major transformations within the sector, noting that in 2023, Saudi Arabia’s international seat capacity grew by 123%, outpacing the global and regional recovery rates of 90% and 95%, respectively.
Additionally, passenger growth hit 26%, totaling about 112 million last year. Eng. Saleh Al-Jasser, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Chairman of GACA, emphasizes that the Saudi aviation sector is witnessing major leaps according to international indicators and a constant transformation in support of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. It is also in line with the National Transport and Logistics Strategy (NTLS) and provides unprecedented opportunities in the air transport sector.
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
The agreement offers innovative and customer-centric solutions to CBD cardholders across all segments
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Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates, has announced an exclusive multi-year strategic partnership with Visa, a global leader in digital payments, for credit and debit cards. This partnership aims to enhance digital payment adoption in the UAE, offering innovative and customer-centric solutions to CBD cardholders across all segments.
The agreement was signed by Khaled Al Hammadi, General Manager of the Personal Banking Group at CBD, and Salima Gutieva, Visa’s Vice President and Country Manager for the UAE.
The signing ceremony was attended by Dr. Bernd van Linder, CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Andrew Torre, Visa’s Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
As part of this partnership, CBD and Visa are also partnering to establish a ‘Centre of Excellence’ powered by Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA), dedicated to accelerating and simplifying customer’s payment experiences. By leveraging core data assets and deriving insights, VCA will formulate actionable recommendations that aim to address business challenges and offer personalized solutions to customers. This collaborative approach will support CBD’s goals of market expansion, product design, customer acquisition, and engagement improvement, focusing on areas such as encouraging card usage through engaging and rewarding gamification, positioning CBD Visa cards as the top choice in digital wallets, enhancing cross-border transactions and payment speed, and expanding our footprint through strategic digital merchant collaborations.
Moreover, CBD and Visa are redefining the marketing landscape for the CBD card business through initiatives such as leveraging advanced technology to enhance digital customer onboarding experiences, sponsoring high-profile events like the Olympics, launching the Visa Instalment Solution in the UAE to introduce flexible payment options for our customers directly through Point-of-Sale (POS) machines, and offering comprehensive local and international benefits, focusing on the complete lifecycle of new and existing CBD Visa cardholders.
Dr. Bernd van Linder, Chief Executive Officer, Commercial Bank of Dubai, said, “We are excited to build on our partnership with Visa as we continue our mission in providing innovative and customer-centric payment solutions. The financial sector landscape is changing dramatically with technological disruption, emergence of new players, as well as constantly evolving customer expectations. Our collaboration with Visa will help us in developing new business models and providing more personalized customer offerings. At CBD, we are committed to playing a leading role in the digitization of the financial payments sector and introducing innovative financial solutions that meet our customers’ evolving needs and deliver seamless banking experiences.”
Khaled Al Hammadi, General Manager, Personal Banking Group at CBD, further added, “We are proud of this extended and strategic partnership with Visa. With Visa’s global expertise and CBD’s dedication to meeting the needs of our customers, we aim to provide a more seamless payment solution, delivering a variety of competitive and innovative features, products, and offers that are data-driven and are based on customer feedback. This includes recognizing and rewarding our customers, enhancing their banking experience, and delivering tangible benefits.”
Salima Gutieva, Visa’s VP and Country Manager for UAE, said, “We are delighted to expand our partnership with CBD with this exclusive multi-year partnership for their credit and debit portfolio. We will continue to work together to develop attractive products that deliver seamless, secure and rewarding experiences to the bank’s customers. CBD will be able to leverage Visa‘s industry-leading data and analytic capabilities to further drive innovation with personalized experiences for Visa cardholders. We also look forward to bringing value to local retailers and contribute to the UAE government’s efforts to grow the digital economy.”
Chris Dixon, a partner who led the charge, says he has a ‘very long-term horizon’
Americans now think they need at least $1.25 million for retirement, a 20% increase from a year ago, according to a survey by Northwestern Mutual
