Raed Abuzinada has been the chief of sector development of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA) since October 2017, and executive vice president of business development and head of cinema at Saudi Entertainment Ventures since March 2018.

Abuzinada gained a bachelor’s in architecture from King Saud University in 2002, and holds diplomas in value engineering and in project management from the University of California.

He started off as a first lieutenant engineer at the General Intelligence Presidency from 1999, before progressing to the rank of captain engineer in 2001, and to major engineer in 2005.

He left to become the founding partner and CEO of Dot Line International Architect Consultants in 2006, having also been the CEO of Blue Reef Divers from 2001-2008, and later of Al-Reem International Circuit from 2008-2012.

He is also the general supervisor of Jeddah Season. Pop stars, pop-up restaurants and the WWE are some of the attractions that will be part of Jeddah Season this year, which starts June 8 and runs until July 18.

During a news conference held on Sunday, he said: “Our message is loud and clear, we’re telling the world we have everything and you no longer need to travel. Jeddah is a gateway to Makkah and Madinah, and pilgrims remain here for a very short while. We want to broadcast a message that says: Stay longer. We want to place Jeddah on the world tourism map.”