A UAE enterprise chief, Shaikha Al Nowais, was nominated Friday for the management place of the UN’s tourism company. Her nomination will now be put to the United Nations Normal Meeting for its approval.
Al Nowais is on monitor to turn into the following Secretary Normal of UN Tourism, to start in January 2026.
The tourism company’s government council voted on Might 30 in Madrid to find out its management for the following 4 years. The profitable candidate wanted help from at the very least 18 of the council’s 35 members.
The transfer represents a landmark for the sector, as Al Nowais can be the primary girl chief of UN Tourism in its 50-year historical past.
Al Nowais’ and UAE’s Second
Nowais is a company vp at Rotana, an area UAE lodge group in Abu Dhabi. It is a position that connects her with potential buyers within the UAE’s tourism trade, overseeing proprietor relations throughout the Center East, Africa, Japanese Europe, and Turkey.
She’s additionally the daughter of Nasser Al Nowais, Rotana’s co-founder and chairman, who additionally served as founder and chairman of Abu Dhabi Nationwide Lodges (ADNH), a government-owned lodge portfolio.
UN Tourism Refresh?
Al Nowais’ appointment is the most recent in a string of tourism wins for Abu Dhabi, which simply secured its personal Disneyland park and a ‘Sphere’ from Sphere Leisure in Las Vegas. Whereas Dubai is extra identified for its tourism sector, Abu Dhabi is the executive and monetary capital of the UAE, the place the ruler resides.
The management contest comes as UN Tourism struggles with main membership losses. The U.S., Canada, the Britain, and a number of other Nordic international locations have withdrawn, citing inadequate worth for his or her monetary contributions.
Al Nowais confronted 5 different candidates, together with incumbent Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia, who sought a 3rd time period. UN Tourism initially questioned whether or not Pololikashvili may run once more on account of time period limits, although the group later mentioned these considerations have been resolved.
Different candidates included: Gloria Guevara (Mexico), a 35-year tourism trade veteran who was Minister for Tourism in Mexico, Harry Theoharis (Greece), who has served as Greece’s Minister of Tourism throughout the Covid-19 pandemic restoration section, in addition to Habib Ammar (Tunisia), a senior civil servant with many years of expertise in Tunisia’s public administration, and Muhammad Adam (Ghana), a diplomat and former ambassador to Spain.
