Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin to Depart Role After Seven Years | News
Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector is preparing for a major leadership transition, with Fahd Hamidaddin set to leave his role as chief executive of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) after seven years at the helm of one of the most ambitious destination transformation programmes in modern tourism history.
Breaking Travel News understands that Abdullah Al Hagbani will serve as acting chief executive from July 1. No permanent successor has yet been announced.
Hamidaddin has been widely regarded as one of the principal architects behind Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a global tourism destination, leading the creation and international expansion of the Visit Saudi brand and helping position tourism at the centre of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
As founding CEO and board member of the Saudi Tourism Authority, he oversaw the development of the Kingdom’s international tourism strategy, the launch of major global marketing campaigns and the creation of partnerships across aviation, hospitality, events, travel technology and investment.
Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia exceeded its original target of attracting 100 million annual visitors years ahead of schedule, prompting the Kingdom to raise its ambitions to 150 million visitors by 2030.
Beyond the numbers, Hamidaddin became one of the most recognisable faces of Saudi tourism on the global stage. He played a central role in reshaping international perceptions of the Kingdom, engaging directly with governments, travel brands, investors and media around the world as Saudi Arabia opened itself to international leisure tourism for the first time.
Prior to leading STA, Hamidaddin held senior leadership positions across both the public and private sectors, including roles with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), King Abdullah Economic City and the Ministry of Tourism. His ability to bridge government strategy, commercial execution and destination branding made him one of the defining figures behind Saudi Arabia’s tourism transformation.
Hamidaddin frequently described STA as “the world’s biggest startup”, reflecting the scale of the challenge facing the organisation when it was launched. In just a few years, Saudi Arabia built a destination brand, tourism infrastructure, international partnerships and visitor economy ecosystem at a pace rarely seen anywhere in the world.
More recently, he has been a driving force behind TOURISE, the Saudi-backed global tourism platform designed to bring together industry leaders, investors, innovators and policymakers to address the future of travel and tourism. As one of its architects, Hamidaddin helped position the initiative as a global forum focused on innovation, sustainability, investment and long-term industry growth.
The departure comes at a significant moment for Saudi tourism.
While the Kingdom has delivered remarkable growth in visitor numbers and global awareness, Saudi Arabia is also entering a more complex chapter of its Vision 2030 journey. A number of major giga-projects have been recalibrated, phased or delayed as the Kingdom balances long-term ambition with financial discipline, evolving market realities and changing global economic conditions.
The wider regional backdrop has also become more challenging. Ongoing tensions linked to the Iran conflict have added pressure to regional travel sentiment, airline operations and investor confidence across parts of the Middle East, while rising debt levels and the scale of capital required for multiple simultaneous mega-projects have intensified scrutiny around execution, timelines and returns.
Against that backdrop, Saudi tourism is increasingly moving from a phase of rapid expansion and global market entry into one focused on long-term value creation, commercial sustainability and delivery.
What Next?
Hamidaddin’s next move has not been announced, but industry speculation is already turning to what comes after leading one of the most ambitious tourism organisations in the world.
Justin Cooke, editor-in-chief of Breaking Travel News, said: “After leading STA, an organisation Fahd himself described as the world’s biggest startup, perhaps the next chapter will be a more entrepreneurial journey. He has helped build one of the defining tourism transformation stories of the Vision 2030 era, and the industry will be watching closely to see where he chooses to build next.”
During his tenure, Saudi Arabia moved from being one of the world’s least understood tourism destinations to one of its most talked-about. Few executives have become as closely associated with the transformation of a national tourism sector as Fahd Hamidaddin.
As Saudi Arabia enters its next phase of tourism development, the industry will now be watching closely to see who is chosen to lead the next chapter, and where one of tourism’s most influential leaders goes next.
