Educated at the Harvard Business School Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation & Technology, the Hon. Al Joharah Almogbel has served her country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its unique way of becoming a major international tourism destination for 19 years. She is part of the dream team put together by His Excellency, the kingdom’s minister of tourism, Ahmed Al-Khateeb.

Deputy Minister Almogbel’s career in the public sector is remarkable

She started servicing her country as a programmer in September 2005, and today is celebrating 19 years of public service. This is timely and one day before the kingdom’s national day.

She worked as a Government Resource Planning specialist from October 2010 to April 2013 and moved to the Enterprise Application Department where she worked for 5 years from April 2013 to January 2019. Her job included working on large-scale cross-functional projects for HR, inventory, supply chain, infrastructure, and finance.

She managed the systematic blueprint of new application releases. She worked with stakeholders and end-users to determine system requirements, liaising with third-party software vendors, and managed the systematic blueprint of new application releases.

From October 2018 she had the responsibility as the digital transformation and innovation team leader, a liaison between the IT department and the business side as well as the client base.

Her responsibilities included building and maintaining strong relationships with international investors. She was the General manager for digital transformation from January 2021 to January 2023, before she was appointed the Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation and Technology Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation and Technology in the newly formed Ministry of Tourism.

Among her achievements was the KSA Visa Projects frontline rollout at the Ministry of Tourism.

The Deputy Minister was leading the digital experience for the Altaif Season, recognized by HRH, the region Prince as the first smart city in the eastern region.

In March the Deputy Minister told the Business Wire: “In our journey to position Saudi Arabia among the G20’s top 10 tourism destinations by 2030, we are leveraging the transformative power of Artificial Intelligence and hyper-automation technologies.

These strategic enablers are crucial to our digital tourism strategy, aiming to elevate experiences for both investors and tourists by setting new standards in service and engagement. Our commitment to employing these technologies enables us to tailor unforgettable experiences and enhance the tourist experience through their effective application across various use cases in the tourism sector. This focus on innovation underscores our mission to make the Kingdom a global beacon of tourism excellence, ensuring Saudi Arabia’s prominence on the international tourism stage.”

Key topics include the application of evidence-based AI for predicting future trends and developing the tourism sector, the ethical considerations of AI for a sustainable industry, the role of AI in fostering cross-cultural understanding, and the use of AI for improving resource management and reducing environmental impact.

“Our collaboration with leading AI organizations underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to revolutionizing tourism through advanced technology,” said Ministry of Tourism Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation and Information Technology (IT) Aljoharah Almogbel. “By harnessing the power of AI, we aim to enhance visitor experiences and drive sustainable growth in alignment with Vision 2030.”

When she discussed the role of women in Saudi society with eTurboNews reporter Dmytro Makarov last year, it was an eye-opener wiping out stereotypes that had been anchored deep in perception and inspired eTN’s feature party until you drop.

She impressed eTurboNews when a glitch in credit card processing due to credit card security features different in the USA and Europe in the newly established online visa experienced by an eTN team member was corrected, when the minister called in the technician who was in charge of the software, correcting the issue within minutes.