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” programme, 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.