The Quality of Life Program (QOLP) is a Saudi Arabian government program aimed at increasing recreation facilities and boosting tourism in as part of the Saudi Vision 2030 Development Program.[1][2]
History
Launched in 2018, QOLP has aimed to turn Saudi Arabia into a global tourism hub. As part of this, QOLP has launched the first cinema in Saudi Arabia, with 55 more cinemas under construction. QOLP has also created an electronic tourist visa in order to ease the entry process. More than 400,000 visas have been issued as of March 2020.
Under QOLP, Saudi Arabia, in 2020, hosted multiple entertainment events which were attended by over 46 million visitors. Over 101,000 jobs were provided by the entertainment companies in Saudi Arabia.[1]
The program has established the Tourism Development Fund, funneling ر.س 15 billion to the tourism industry. The project has funded more than 67 tourism projects with more than ر.س 200 million.[3]
The QOLP programs also include the Hobbies Sector aimed at developing recreational practices and facilities. The Hobby Clubs Association's (Hawi) bylaws were approved, with the membership of 11 government agencies. Hawi is the entity responsible for the establishment, organization, and registration of hobby clubs. [4]
Indexes
QOLP evaluates program performance by referring to multiple indexes, including:
- The Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Liveability Index
- Mercer Quality of Life Index
- Monocle Magazine Quality of Life Survey
- UN World Happiness Report
- OECD Better Life Index
- AARP Liveability Index
Some of QOLP's key performance indicators include: Number of Saudi cities in the top 100 livable cities in the world, number of restaurants and cafes, percentage of shopping malls' area (square meter per individual), amount of green spaces per capita, number of hobby clubs, percentage of people practicing sports, and number of places for practicing sports.
References
