Forbes Middle East has unveiled its list of the “Most Powerful Travel and Tourism Leaders in the Middle East” for the second year in a row, highlighting 100 of the region’s most influential leaders striving to make the region an attractive global tourism destination.
The list included 8 Egyptian leaders working in the sectors of aviation, hospitality, hotels and resorts, led by the Chairman and CEO of the Holding Company for EgyptAir Yehia Zakaria Ismail, followed by the CEO and Managing Director of Al-Rayyan Tourism Investment Company Tariq Mahmoud Al-Sayed, then the CEO and Managing Director of Talaat Moustafa Holding Group. Hisham Talaat Mostafa.
Forbes said: To prepare the list, we adopted several criteria to classify the leaders residing in the Middle East, including: the company’s business volume, including revenues, investment and asset values, company ownership and assets, the positions held by the leader, his professional experience, and other achievements.
Here are the strongest Egyptian travel and tourism leaders for 2023:
1- Yehia Zakaria Ismail
Company: EgyptAir Holding Company
Position: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Sector: Aviation
Ranking in the list: 13
Ismail assumed his current position in October 2022. EgyptAir carried about 8 million passengers between July 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 60% compared to last year. The company’s load rate reached about 78% during the first 9 months of the fiscal year 2022/23, with an average of 1,400 international flights and 360 domestic flights per week. EgyptAir also flies to 70 international destinations and 8 domestic destinations. Prior to joining the civil aviation sector, Ismail spent 30 years in the Egyptian Air Force.
2- Tariq Mahmoud Al-Sayed
The Company: Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company
Position: Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 25
Al-Sayed has been the CEO and Managing Director of Al-Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC) since 2017. The company opened 4 hotels in Qatar to serve the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, adding more than 3,150 hotel rooms. While the company’s hotels hosted the national teams of Portugal, Wales, South Korea and Ghana during the World Cup. The company’s current portfolio exceeds $5 billion, and includes many residential and commercial properties, and more than 35 hotels in the Middle East, North Africa, America and Europe, with a total of 9,900 rooms. Al-Sayed previously worked for Al-Faisal Holding, the parent company of Al-Rayyan Tourism Investment Company.
3- Hisham Talaat Mostafa
Company: Talaat Moustafa Holding Group
Position: Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 45
Mostafa has been working for Talaat Moustafa Group Holding for more than 40 years. The group owns Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh, Four Seasons Nile Plaza Cairo, Four Seasons San Stefano Grand Plaza Alexandria, and Kempinski Nile Cairo, and all hotels include more than a thousand hotel units. In 2022, the Group’s hospitality segment revenues jumped by 102% with an occupancy rate of 60%. The group is one of the largest real estate developers in the region. In June 2022, the group laid the foundation stone for the Four Seasons Hotel Luxor project, which includes 200 rooms on an area of 40,000 square meters. Hisham started his career with the family company, Alexandria Construction, in 1980.
4- Adel Wali
The Company: The Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels
Position: Executive Managing Director
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 52
-Wali leads the Egyptian government-owned Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels. It owns 28 hotels and resorts in Egypt, including: Sofitel Legend Cataract Aswan Hotel, which was built in 1899. The holding company has 7 subsidiaries, including: Misr Tourism Company and the Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH). In December 2022, the company reopened Safir Dahab Resort after its renovation. And it recorded revenues of about $31 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2022, an increase of 408% compared to fiscal year 2021.
-5- Hussein Sharif Fahmy
Company: Air Cairo
Position: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Sector: Aviation
Rank in the list: 53
Air Cairo is an Egyptian airline that operates flights to more than 40 international and domestic destinations, including 300 domestic flights per month. The national airline expanded in 2023, purchasing 5 new aircraft in the first quarter, bringing its fleet to 30 aircraft. Fahmy previously worked for EgyptAir for more than 10 years, and held several positions, including: General Manager of Foreign Offices, Vice President for Commercial Affairs, and Advisor to the Chairman of the Board.
6- Hossam Al-Shaer
Company: Sunrise Resorts and Hotels, SkyMax Holidays
Position: Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Board
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 69
The poet founded the Sunrise Resorts and Hotels Company (SUNRISE) in 2002, and it now includes 20 hotels in the Red Sea in Egypt, including: (Meraki) Resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, (Tanoak) Hotel in Ain Sokhna, in addition to (Kwanza) Resort in Tanzania. , and 7 floating hotels moored in Luxor and Aswan. In 2022, the company opened the (White Hills) resort in Sharm El-Sheikh. Al-Shaer is also the chairman of the board of directors of SkyMax Holidays, a tourism company that operates in Egypt, Morocco and the UAE. He is also a partner in the energy company Ingas. He was previously a member of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, and the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Agencies Companies.
7- Hany Farag
Company: National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 78
Faraj assumed his current position in October 2018. The National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels owns 5 hotels in Abu Dhabi, including: InterContinental Hotel Abu Dhabi and InterContinental Residence Hotel Abu Dhabi, managed by IHG Hotels and Resorts, while the Corporation manages Danat Hotels and Resorts, which includes Danat Al Ain Resort and Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort. and Dhafra Beach Hotel.
The National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels also owns the Cheers retail chain and a Belgian Café franchise. The company manages 1,229 rooms, villas and chalets for about 7 hotels in Abu Dhabi, and registered total assets of $771 million in 2022. Recently, the corporation signed a contract with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to provide food catering and hospitality services to the workforce at ADNOC drilling sites, during the period from 2022 to 2027.
8- Muhammad Awad Allah
Company: Time Hotels Group
Position: Chief Executive Officer
Nationality: Egyptian-Belgian
Sector: hotels and resorts
Rank in the list: 91
Awadallah co-founded the TIME Hotels Group in 2012 and was appointed CEO to oversee the company’s 17 hotels. In 2022, the group opened the TIME Coral Resort Nuweiba, overlooking the Gulf of Aqaba, and the TIME Moonstone Hotel Apartments in Fujairah. The group added the City Landmark Suites Hotel in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and the Atlas Crown Resort in Morocco, to its portfolio. Awadallah has 39 years of experience in the hospitality sector, and previously held positions in international hospitality companies including: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Hilton International, and Rotana Hotels.
