Sheikh Ahmed enters Forbes Middle East’s list
DUBAI: Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, topped Forbes Middle East’s Top 50 Travel & Tourism Leaders list.
The list spotlights 50 leaders who drive growth in the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry, building on their desire to reconnect with the world.
Emiratesairlineandgroup’srevenuereached$6.7 billion in the first half of the 2021/2022 fiscal year.
Moreover, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths ranked third on the list.
The UAE dominated this month’s list with 24 of the leaders featured based in the UAE, followed by 11 in Saudi Arabia, and four in Egypt.
The hotels and hospitality sector is the most dominant on the list with 26 entries, followed by aviation with 17, and tourism with seven entries.
Emirates,theworld’slargestinternationalairline, recently, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Maldivian, the national airline and leading domestic carrier in the Maldives, to explore codeshare, interline, and joint holiday package opportunities.
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said, “A codeshare and interline agreement will immensely benefit both carriers. For Emirates customers, its enhanced connectivity to and from the Maldivian archipelago. For Maldivian travellers, it’ll ease access to our extensive network of more than 120 destinations, via Dubai. We look forward to continue strengthening our partnership and to offering customers a seamless travel experience.”
Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance of the
Republic of Maldives, said, “Emirates’ impact to the Maldives’ tourism industry is significant, with the airline ranking first in terms of international passenger traffic.
The possible partnership between the two airlines will benefit the Maldivian economy and strengthen economic ties between the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates.”
Mohamed Mihad, Maldivian’s Managing Director,
said, “The opportunity to explore a partnership with the largest airline in the world brings about endless opportunities for Maldivian.”
“The growth prospects that could follow such a partnership is key when we look to expand our operations and develop partnerships that will allow us to position ourselves in the post COVID-19 aviation industry. The interline and codeshare arrangement being explored would enable both Maldivian as well as Emirates to enhance the connectivity and expand on the service offerings.”