Haitham Mattar is a Lebanese-American business executive and former CEO of the

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) was established in May 2011 under the Government of Ras Al Khaimah. Its purpose is to develop and promote the emirate's tourism offering and infrastructure, both domestically and abroad. M ...

. where he successfully repositioned Ras Al Khaimah to become one of the fastest growing destinations in the world, exceeding the target of one million visitors in the first three years and winning a number of global travel awards and personal accolades. Mattar’s cross-continent experience and valuable global insights allowed him to effectively lead Ras Al Khaimah’s destination growth strategy, through capturing existing and emerging source market movements and

international tourism International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalization has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual ...

trends. He was also instrumental in the concept and delivery of globally recognized tourism demand generators in the emirate including Jebel Jais Flight: the world’s longest zipline and the region’s first Via Ferrata. Mattar, now Sr. Advisor to the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, advising on developing and implementing Saudi’s tourism strategy, applying his expertise in the development of source markets, routes, product and overall destination development. In April 2021, Mattar was appointed as the Managing Director of MD of India, Middle East & Africa by IHG Hotels & Resorts.

Career

Mattar is slated to take over the role of Managing Director of India, Middle East & Africa (IMEA) for IHG Hotels & Resorts, effective April 18, 2021. Since starting his career in hospitality in 1987, Mattar has held senior roles with global hotel brands, including Marriott,

InterContinental Hotels Group InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), marketed as IHG Hotels & Resorts, is a British multinational hospitality company headquartered in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. It ...

(IHG) and Hilton Worldwide. In 2005, Mattar assumed the role of Director of Sales and Marketing at InterContinental Hotels Group, where he was responsible for the sales & marketing functions at properties in the Middle East and Africa region. In 2009, he was appointed as Area General Manager - Lebanon & Commercial Director Near East, overseeing the operational & commercial functions for IHG's hotels in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. As Regional Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Hilton, Mattar was responsible for the development of source markets, Global and National Sales & Marketing offices as well as the development and implementation of Marketing & Sales strategy of over 130 properties across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. As CEO of the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, Mattar was responsible for Ras Al Khaimah's brand positioning, destination marketing, tourism development and growth strategy. During the time Mattar has assumed the role of CEO, Ras Al Khaimah has recorded rapid economic progress and unprecedented growth in tourism figures.

Education

A Lebanese-born American citizen and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

speaker, Mattar holds an MBA in marketing from the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Named ‘Tourism Promotion CEO of the Year’ at the Global CEO Excellence Awards, Mattar was featured in the

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

‘most powerful Arabs’ list, in addition to being named one of the top 100 smartest people in the UAE. Also names ‘Leisure and Tourism CEO of the Year’ at the prestigious CEO Middle East Awards and ‘Business Leader of the Year’ at the Hozpitality Excellence Awards in 2018. In 2017, Mattar was elected as Vice Chair of the UNWTO Board of Affiliate Members as well as being appointed as a member of the steering committee for the UNWTO 2017 International Year for

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

in Tourism. Mattar was also named a full-time advisory board member of the Global Thinkers Forum (GTF) in 2018, and an Advisory Board Member of Al Marjan Development. Mattar is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economy and was appointed in 2018 as a member of the Arabian Travel Market Advisory Board by Reed Travel Exhibitions. In August 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority joined WTTC as a member, being represented by Mattar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mattar, Haitham American people of Lebanese descent Living people American chief executives of travel and tourism industry companies Alumni of the University of Liverpool Year of birth missing (living people)