عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Saudi Tourism Ministry Launches Global Program to Train 100,000 Young Men, Women

The "Tourism Pioneers" program will contribute to providing extensive global expertise to future Saudi leaders in the Kingdom’s tourism sector. Photo: Twitter Account of Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb
The "Tourism Pioneers" program will contribute to providing extensive global expertise to future Saudi leaders in the Kingdom’s tourism sector. Photo: Twitter Account of Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb
TT
TT

Saudi Tourism Ministry Launches Global Program to Train 100,000 Young Men, Women

The "Tourism Pioneers" program will contribute to providing extensive global expertise to future Saudi leaders in the Kingdom’s tourism sector. Photo: Twitter Account of Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb
The "Tourism Pioneers" program will contribute to providing extensive global expertise to future Saudi leaders in the Kingdom’s tourism sector. Photo: Twitter Account of Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb

The Ministry of Tourism launched Tuesday the "Tourism Pioneers" program, which aims to develop the capabilities of 100,000 young Saudi men and women in the field of hospitality, tourism and travel.

Minister of Tourism Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb launched the program on the sidelines of the 116th session of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in Jeddah.

The "Tourism Pioneers" program will contribute to providing extensive global expertise to future Saudi leaders in the Kingdom’s tourism sector.

"We must invest in our youth today and create skilled and ambitious workforce to support the tourism sector at the regional and global levels, as this plays a major role in achieving the Kingdom's Vision 2030,” said the minister.

“This program demonstrates our commitment to empowering young people by providing them with the necessary skills and support.”

The Ministry of Tourism has selected the highest-rated institutes and educational institutions in the world based on their academic capabilities in the field of tourism and training, such as the Les Roches Marbella, Spain, Global Hospitality Education; SHMS Swiss Hotel Management School; Glion Institute of Higher Education; Cesar Ritz Colleges; Montreal Institute; ESSEC Business School; Ecole Hoteliere in Lausanne; European School of Economics (ESE); NSW Technical and Further Education, and Business and Hotel Management School (BHMS), Switzerland.

Selected applicants to join the program will benefit from comprehensive training courses that will enable them to secure employment opportunities in the leading hospitality companies in the Kingdom.

To qualify for the program, the applicant must be a Saudi national, speak English fluently, and be interested in working in the tourism sector and register on the ministry’s website.

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
TT
TT

Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.