Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin leaves after seven years | News
Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector is preparing for a major leadership transition Fahd Hamidaddin is about to step down from his role as CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) after seven years at the helm of one of the most ambitious destination transformation programs in the modern history of tourism.
Breaking Travel News understands that Abdullah Al Hagbani will serve as acting CEO from July 1. No permanent successor has yet been announced.
Hamidaddin is widely regarded as one of the key architects behind Saudi Arabia’s rise as a global tourist destination. He led the creation and international expansion of the Visit Saudi brand and helped place tourism at the heart of the kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy.
As founder, CEO and board member of the Saudi Tourism Authorityhe oversaw the development of the Kingdom’s international tourism strategy, launching major global marketing campaigns and creating partnerships across aviation, hospitality, events, travel technology and investment.
Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia exceeded its original target of attracting 100 million visitors annually, years ahead of schedule, prompting the Kingdom to increase its ambitions to 150 million visitors by 2030.
Numbers aside, Hamidaddin became one of the most recognizable faces of Saudi tourism on the world stage. He played a central role in reshaping the international perception of the Kingdom, engaging directly with governments, travel brands, investors and media around the world as Saudi Arabia first opened up to international leisure tourism.
Before leading STA, Hamidaddin held leadership positions in both the public and private sectors, including positions at 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 often described STA as “the largest startup in the world,” which reflects the scale of the challenge the organization faced when it launched. In just a few years, Saudi Arabia has built a destination brand, tourism infrastructure, international partnerships and a visitor economy ecosystem at a pace rarely seen anywhere in the world.
More recently, he was a driving force behind TOURISE, the Saudi-backed global tourism platform designed to bring together industry leaders, investors, innovators and policymakers to tackle the future of travel and tourism. As one of the architects, Hamidaddin helped position the initiative as a global forum focused on innovation, sustainability, investment and long-term industrial growth.
The departure comes at an important time for Saudi tourism.
While the Kingdom has achieved 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 postponed as the Kingdom balances long-term ambition with financial discipline, changing market realities and changing global economic conditions.
The broader regional backdrop has also become more challenging. Ongoing tensions related to the conflict with Iran have weighed on regional travel sentiment, airline activity and investor confidence in parts of the Middle East, while rising debt levels and the scale of capital required for multiple simultaneous mega-projects have intensified scrutiny over execution, timelines and returns.
Against this backdrop, Saudi tourism is increasingly evolving from a phase of rapid expansion and access to the global market to one focused on long-term value creation, commercial sustainability and delivery.
What now?
Hamidaddin’s next move has not yet been announced, but industry speculation is already focusing on what comes next after leading one of the most ambitious tourism organizations in the world.
Justin Cooke, editor-in-chief of Breaking Travel News, said: “After leading STA, an organization that Fahd himself described as the world’s largest startup, the next chapter may 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 wants to build next.”
During his tenure, Saudi Arabia went from one of the least understood tourist destinations in the world to one of the most talked about. Few executives have become as deeply involved in transforming a national tourism industry as Fahd Hamidaddin.
As Saudi Arabia enters the next phase of tourism development, the industry will be keeping a close eye on who is chosen to lead the next chapter, and where one of tourism’s most influential leaders goes next.
