Forbes Middle East magazine announced the selection of three personalities from the State of Qatar within its prestigious list for “the most powerful tourism and travel leaders in the Middle East 2025”, in the areas of hospitality and tourist destinations, hotel and airports chains, airlines and travel services in the region, within the public and private sectors.
Engineer Badr Mohamed El -Mir, CEO of the Qatar Airways Group, ranked third in the list, which includes 101 leadership and influential personalities that manage the most prominent projects in the region, and Eng. Bader Al -Mir took office in 2023. In the fiscal year 2024/2025, the group recorded revenues of 23.5 billion dollars, and net profits of $ 2.2 billion. In September 2024, the group acquired 25% of the South African airline (Airlink) for $ 41 million. In March 2025, it acquired a 25% minority stake in (Virgin Australia) for $ 514 million. Al -Mir also occupies the membership of the Board of Directors of the International Air Transport Federation.
The list also included Eng. Abdulaziz Ali Al -Mawlawi, CEO of “Visit QATAR” (25), and Al -Mawlawi took over the position of VISIT QATAR in May 2024, which is the main marketing and promotional arm of Tourism, the organizational authority of the tourism sector. He played a pivotal role in achieving unprecedented growth in the number of international visitors to Qatar, as the number of visitors exceeded 5 million visitors for the first time during the year 2024, achieving an annual growth by 25%.
Forbes praised the vision of the strategic engineer Al -Mawlawi, which includes the consolidation of Qatar’s position as a major destination for hosting major global sporting events, as well as his focus on digital innovation and the expansion of major global partnerships.
His leadership continues to push the success of Visit QATAR in the field of marketing the tourist destination in line with Qatar National Vision 2030, to ensure the sustainable growth of the country’s tourism sector.
In the top (33) in the list, Mr. Tariq Al -Sayed, Managing Director, CEO of Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTC). The master joined the company in 2001, took office in 2017. The company runs 35 hotels and resorts until May 2025, and its investments vary in 15 cities around the world.
Forbes stated that the tourism and travel sector in the Middle East continues to consolidate its position among the most dynamic global destinations, driven by standard investments and ambitious government visions, pointing out that the leaders ranked on the year list represent 10 countries from the Middle East and North Africa.
Forbes Middle East prepared the classification, after evaluating the leaders of the public and private sectors based on the size of their companies’ business, including revenues, asset values, the number of hotels and rooms, and the number of visitors. The evaluation also depended on the extent of their professional experiences, achievements, and their general impact on the tourist scene in the region. The rating includes leaders residing in the Middle East and North Africa.
