Speakers announced for May's Future...

Executives from Minor Hotels, Flyadeal and Club Med will speak at three-day event

The first speakers have been announced for the Future Hospitality Summit (FHS) Saudi Arabia.

One of the most influential hospitality investment conferences, the three-day event will return to the Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh from 11 to 13 May 2025.

With 362,000 hotel keys under development in the kingdom, FHS Saudi Arabia brings together hospitality leaders and industry experts to discuss hotel performance and development, as well as key trends driving the booming hospitality sector in the kingdom.

In December, the FHS Advisory Board announced that the 2024 edition had generated US$1.1 billion in business opportunities and attracted more than 1,400 industry leaders.

Among confirmed speakers for 2025 are some of the leading names in travel, hospitality, aviation and investment in the region and world:

Sultan Bader Al-Otaibi, CEO, Taiba Investments
Waleed AlRashed AlHumaid, CEO, Alrajhi Capital
Omar Romero, Chief Development and Luxury Officer, Minor Hotels
Muin Serhan, CEO, AMSA Hospitality
Abdullah Azhari, CEO & Managing Director, Saudi Icon Company
Steven Greenway, CEO, Flyadeal
Ron Pohl, President of International Operations, BWH Hotel Group & President, WorldHotels
Gregory Lanter, Group Deputy CEO, Club Med
Michael Acton Smith, Co-Founder & CEO, Calm
Glenn Mandziuk, CEO, World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, and Jake Haupert, CEO, Transformational Travel Council

Speaker lineup at FHS Saudi 2025

“We are excited to welcome our first distinguished speakers for what is set to be a stellar line-up of leaders representing the hospitality investment community in Saudi Arabia and around the world,” said Tanja Millner, Production Director at The Bench, organisers of FHS.

Under the theme ‘Where vision shapes opportunity’, this year’s content tracks will include the future of hospitality in Saudi Arabia, building a sustainable tomorrow, hospitality investment, tomorrow’s lifestyle which includes the future of tourism and destination development, pathways to holistic wellness, restaurant investment and F&B experiences.

According to data from Knight Frank, the travel and tourism industry is set to increase to 3.63 million jobs by 2034. The total value of real estate and infrastructure projects unveiled in Saudi Arabia is US$1.3 trillion and there are currently 1,048,000 residential units under planning and development stage with 362,000 hotel keys under development.

The Bench also runs FHS World (formerly AHIC) which takes place 27 to 29 October 2025 at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

For more information, visit www.futurehospitalitysummit.com

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