Saudi low-cost airline flyadeal is turning its cabin crew into certified tour guides in a move that blends aviation with tourism; the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East.

Edge of the World via unsplash khalid-elkady

Tour Guide via unsplash shashank-verma

This exciting initiative was announced in early May at Arabian Travel Market 2025 (ATM) in Dubai. The programme will see 800 Saudi crew members trained and licensed as official tour guides and tourism ambassadors by 2030. Participants will gain a deep understanding of Saudi Arabia’s history, heritage, and cultural landmarks through a curriculum delivered by an institute accredited by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism.

It’s a bold play in support of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’s sweeping strategy to diversify the economy and turn Saudi Arabia into a global tourism hub with a target of welcoming 150 million visitors annually by the end of the decade.

From the Skies to the Streets of Diriyah and Beyond

Diriyah via ig 5

Diriyah via ig 2

The candidates will go through extensive training for tour guides, enhancing their understanding of Saudi Arabia’s cultural heritage and historical landmarks, and to kick off the initiative, flyadeal crew visited Diriyah, the historic birthplace of the Kingdom just outside Riyadh.

With its distinctive mud-brick architecture and large-scale redevelopment underway, the district is being transformed into Saudi Arabia’s premier cultural and lifestyle destination.

As flyadeal’s CEO Steven Greenway puts it, the training programme gives crew members the chance to “harness their experience by taking tourists on guided tours around the wonderful historic sites that the Kingdom is so renowned for.” The airline crew going through training will also engage with passengers in a tourism or tour guide capacity during flights, giving travellers an early taste of what Saudi Arabia has to offer.

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Part of something bigger

Flyadeal Saudi 5

Flyadeal, which bills itself as the fastest-growing airline in the Middle East, is rapidly expanding its operations and its ambitions. The carrier currently serves over 30 destinations, including a domestic network of 18 cities such as Abha, NEOM, Dammam and Yanbu, alongside nine year-round international routes to places like Dubai, Istanbul, Cairo, Amman, and Karachi. New routes launching this year include Alexandria, Salalah, and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, with six seasonal summer destinations from Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam including Sarajevo, Baku, Tbilisi and Sharm El Sheikh.

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