Twenty-three of 34 voting countries for the executive council of the United Nations Tourism gave a yes to Shaikha Al Nowais to become the next Secretary-General from 2026. The position still needs to be confirmed by the UN Tourism General Assembly in November 2025.
Following protocol, the executive council elected Shaikha Al Nowais as the next Secretary-General, to begin in January 2026. The nomination represents a landmark first for the sector, as the first woman leader of UN Tourism in its 50-year history.
Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais is an Emirati business leader with over 16 years of experience in global hospitality. As corporate vice president at Rotana Hotels, she has overseen owner relations across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Turkey. A graduate of Zayed University in Finance, she also chairs the Abu Dhabi Chamber’s Tourism Working Group and serves on the boards of the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council and Les Roches Hospitality Academy.
The Diplomat reports that the United Arab Emirates candidate Shaikha Al Nowais defeated Greek candidate Harry Theoharis in the runoff election, 24 votes to 11, in the vote held this Friday during the 123rd meeting of the UN Tourism Executive Council, held at the Royal Site of San Ildefonso in La Granja (Segovia).
In the first round, Al Nowais had received 16 votes and Theoharis 11, the same number she received in the runoff. Mexican candidate Gloria Guevara received six votes (including Spain’s), and Ghanaian candidate Muhammad Adam received two. Therefore, Spain voted for the Emirati candidate in the runoff. Tunisian candidate Habib Ammar withdrew before the vote.
Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais comes from a prominent Emirati family. She currently serves as director of Internal Audit at Rotana Management Corporation PJSC (“Rotana”) and previously worked for the auditing firm KPMG in Abu Dhabi for three years. She holds a degree in Business Administration from Zayed University.
Al Nowais will succeed Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia, who is serving a second term as head of the organization.
The vote took place during the meeting of the UN Tourism Executive Council. The permanent headquarters of UN Tourism, a United Nations agency are located in Spain. The entity celebrates its 50th anniversary this 2025.
The 35 voting countries of the executive council of UN Tourism are Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, China, Colombia, Croatia, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Czech Republic, South Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, United Republic of Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia.
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Listin Diario
3 June 2025