The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the voice, growth and competitiveness of millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the global Travel & Tourism sector. The partnership brings together WTTC’s specialist Travel & Tourism expertise, economic research and industry insight with ICC’s global business network spanning more than 45 million businesses across over 170 countries. Together, the organisations will provide SMEs with practical guidance, tools, insights, connections and opportunities to help them grow and compete.

Adeeb Ahamed approaches hotels as both experiences and long-duration assets. Since founding Twenty14 Holdings in 2014, he has assembled a portfolio valued at more than $750 million, with properties in the UK, the Middle East and India. The collection includes Great Scotland Yard in London, Sheraton Oman, Pullman Dubai Downtown, Port Muziris in Kochi and the historic Caledonian in Edinburgh. Ahamed’s route into hotel investment was not conventional. He began his career in hospitality, with experience connected to Grosvenor House, JW Marriott and Baglioni in London, but later built businesses across financial services and food retail. He established LuLu International Exchange in 2009 and became the driving force behind Tablez, a food and beverage and retail platform.

Philippe Zuber leads a company whose properties are expected to be destinations in their own right. Atlantis, One&Only, SIRO and Rare Finds operate in different parts of the market, but each depends on a strong concept rather than simple accommodation. Zuber’s role is to make those concepts commercially scalable without making them feel manufactured. He became chief executive of Kerzner International in 2020 after joining the company in 2015 as president and chief operating officer of One&Only. Before Kerzner, he held senior roles at Emaar Hospitality Group, including chief operating officer and acting chief executive. There, he contributed to the creation and growth of Vida and Rove, giving him experience of brand development across luxury and contemporary segments.

When flydubai was created in 2008, its purpose was to connect Dubai with underserved regional markets using a simple narrowbody model. Under chief executive Ghaith Al Ghaith, it has grown into something more complex: a network airline that complements Emirates, carries premium as well as value-conscious travellers and reaches cities larger aircraft cannot serve efficiently. Al Ghaith brought more than two decades of aviation experience to the launch. He joined Emirates in 1986 and rose to executive vice president for commercial operations worldwide, giving him direct exposure to route planning, sales and the development of Dubai as a hub. Leading flydubai allowed him to apply that knowledge to a more agile platform.

Bander Almohanna’s career at flynas spans nearly the entire modern history of the airline. He joined in 2006 as chief financial officer, became executive vice president in 2008 and took the chief executive role in 2015. That continuity has allowed him to influence not only the carrier’s network, but also its capital structure and operating model. His background is unusually well suited to that task. Almohanna earned an accounting degree from King Saud University, an MBA from American University and a master’s degree in actuarial mathematics and finance from the University of Michigan. He also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Before joining flynas, he spent approximately 11 years at the Saudi Central Bank in banking supervision and later moved into private business.

Guy Hutchinson’s appointment as Hilton’s president for the Middle East and Africa was a return as much as a new beginning. Before leading Rotana from 2020 to 2024, he had spent 16 years with Hilton in operational and regional roles across the Middle East, Europe, Japan, China, Australia and India. That combination gives Hutchinson an uncommon perspective. He understands the systems, brand architecture and loyalty economics of a global hotel company, but he has also run a regional competitor whose strength depended on local relationships and quick decision-making. Hilton’s growth strategy needs both instincts.

Preferred Hotels & Resorts, the world’s largest independent hotel brand, announces the continued expansion of its prestigious Legend Collection with the addition of 11 distinguished properties in 2026. The growth has brought new representation across Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, further strengthening a collection that now encompasses over 125 legendary properties worldwide.