Ahmed bin Saeed .. The strongest tourist and travel leaders in the region

Forbes Middle East revealed its list of the most powerful tourism and travel leaders in the region for the year 2025, which included 101 leadership figures that manage the most prominent projects in the fields of hospitality, tourist destinations, hotel chains, airports, airlines, travel services and innovative tourism initiatives.

Forbes Middle East said that the tourism and travel sector in the Middle East continues to consolidate its position among the most dynamic global destinations, driven by standard investments and ambitious governmental visions, pointing out that the leaders ranked on the year list represent 10 countries from the Middle East and North Africa.

Emirati

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Supreme President of the CEO of Emirates Airlines and the group, issued the classification for the fourth year in a row.

And “Forbes Middle East” pointed out that the revenues of the “Emirates Group” increased 6% during the fiscal year 2024/2025, to reach 39.6 billion dollars, while its assets amounted to 49.7 billion dollars.

He was ranked second, according to the classification, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority, Fahd Hamid Al -Din, followed by the third place, CEO of the Qatar Airways Group, Badr Muhammad Al -Meir.

The UAE also topped the classification with 49 leaders residing on its soil, followed by Saudi Arabia with 24 leaders, then Egypt with seven leaders, and Oman with five leaders. Jordan and Morocco also appeared through four posts for each of them, then Qatar and Bahrain with three posts each, Kuwait and Tunisia with only one participation of each of them, through Kuwait Airways, and the Tunisian National Tourism Bureau.

On the nationalities level, the 15 Emiratis, 14 Saudis, and nine British are highlighted, to form three nationalities of the largest percentage of the list.

And appeared in the list “The 10 most powerful leaders of tourism and travel in the Middle East for the year 2025”, both the Director General of the Department of Culture and Tourism- Abu Dhabi, Saleh Muhammad Al-Jaziri in the fourth place, the CEO of “Group of Wasl”, Hisham Al-Qasim in the seventh place, the Managing Director and CEO of “ADNEC Group”, Hamid Matar Al-Dhaheri in the eighth place, and the CEO of “Miral Group”, Mohamed Abdullah Al-Zaabi in the center The ninth, CEO of Dubai Airports Foundation, Paul Griffiths is 10th.

Classification criteria

Forbes Middle East prepared the classification, after evaluating the leaders of the public and private sectors based on the size of their companies’ business, including revenues, asset values, the number of hotels and rooms, and the number of visitors. The evaluation also depended on the extent of their professional experiences, achievements, and their general impact on the tourist scene in the region. The rating includes leaders residing in the Middle East and North Africa.

The UAE dominates the classification with 49 leaders residing in it, followed by Saudi Arabia with 24 leaders, then Egypt with 7 leaders.