Mahmoud Abdulhadi recently joined the Saudi Ministry of Tourism as a senior adviser to lead its investment attraction activities in the Saudi tourism sector.

Since international tourism was opened in Saudi Arabia in 2019, it has become one of the highest growth potential sectors. It is expected to contribute 10 percent of annual GDP by 2030 — compared to 3 percent today — and create more than 1 million jobs.

Abdulhadi’s mandate to lead investment attraction activities is focused on boosting private sector investment, in line with the goals of Vision 2030 and the National Tourism Strategy.

Before working with the Ministry of Tourism, Abdulhadi spent 17 years with banking giant UBS, where he finished as CEO and head of investment banking at UBS Saudi Arabia.

During his time with UBS, Abdulhadi worked on various transactions in M&A and equity capital markets spanning multiple sectors, including infrastructure, entertainment, telecoms, energy, financial institutions, and agriculture.

Abdulhadi holds a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering and management from the University of Warwick, UK.

Abdulhadi told Arab News about his role in attracting investment to help build the tourism sector.

“The role of the ministry is to identify potential investment opportunities for both domestic and international investors and highlight what these opportunities are.

“We will make sure that we are achieving our goal of lifting the tourism offering in the Kingdom and ensuring that we are in line with the National Tourism Strategy.”