In a landmark second for the United Arab Emirates and the worldwide journey business, Shaikha Nasser Al Nowais has been nominated because the first-ever girl to steer UN Tourism in its 50-year historical past. Her nomination was confirmed throughout the 123rd UN Tourism Government Council session held in Segovia, Spain, the place she secured a majority vote. As soon as ratified by the UN Common Meeting, she’s going to formally take workplace in January 2026 for a four-year time period, marking a proud and historic achievement for the UAE on the world stage.
A 50-year barrier is damaged
The United Arab Emirates has marked a monumental second on the worldwide stage: Shaikha Al Nowais has been formally confirmed as the subsequent Secretary-Common of the United Nations Specialised Company for Tourism (UN Tourism). This appointment, ratified by the 160 Member States on the twenty sixth Common Meeting, is not only a high-level posting—it’s a piece of historical past. Shaikha Al Nowais turns into the primary girl to steer the group since its institution 50 years in the past in 1975.This triumph is considered throughout the nation as a direct reflection of the UAE’s sustained dedication to its Imaginative and prescient 2040 targets of girls’s empowerment and world management. Upon the announcement, the best ranges of the UAE management hailed the achievement. President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the appointment “reaffirms the UAE’s dedication to empowering Emirati girls in management.” The victory is devoted, by Al Nowais herself, to the management and to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, whom she praised because the “first and most enduring supporter of Emirati and Arab girls.”
Who’s Shaikha Al Nowais?
Shaikha Al Nowais is much from an outsider to the business she is ready to steer. Her skilled life displays the dynamism and ambition of the UAE’s financial system. She is a extremely completed Emirati enterprise chief with over 16 years of worldwide expertise, bringing a uncommon mixture of company effectivity and world technique to the UN.Key positions that ready her for this historic function embody:
- Company Vice President at Rotana Lodges, managing proprietor relationships throughout an unlimited geographic space together with the Center East, Africa, and Jap Europe.
- Chair of the Abu Dhabi Chamber’s Tourism Working Group, the place she has actively formed public-private sector collaboration.
- Board memberships on the Abu Dhabi Businesswomen Council and the distinguished Les Roches Hospitality Academy.
Her candidacy itself was a mirrored image of the nationwide imaginative and prescient, with Al Nowais noting that her nomination by the UAE was “reflective of the significance our nation locations on empowering Emirati girls in management positions.” This appointment firmly locations an Emirati girl on the forefront of world coverage, proving that professionals from the area can lead worldwide organizations with talent and excellence.
A daring imaginative and prescient
Shaikha Al Nowais is ready to formally start her four-year time period in January 2026. She takes the helm at a crucial juncture for the business, which faces challenges from local weather change, technological acceleration, and geopolitical shifts.She has articulated a complete 5-Pillar Imaginative and prescient designed to remodel the tourism sector:
- Accountable Tourism: Prioritizing environmental safety and cultural heritage preservation.
- Capability Constructing: Increasing alternatives, particularly specializing in youth and ladies empowerment within the sector.
- Know-how for Good: Harnessing Synthetic Intelligence (AI) and digital instruments to boost effectivity and the traveller expertise.
- Revolutionary Financing: Mobilizing new investments and monetary options to assist sustainable development.
- Sensible Governance: Making certain clear, moral, and collaborative management throughout all Member States.
Her dedication to girls’s and youth empowerment is especially robust, aiming to create coaching packages and job alternatives that guarantee tourism development is equitable. This focus is already mirrored in her personal sector work, the place she championed supportive office insurance policies like versatile working preparations to assist girls thrive.
A message to Emirati girls
The influence of this appointment extends far past tourism coverage; it’s an inspirational second for each younger Emirati girl.When addressing younger professionals, Shaikha Al Nowais provided clear, empowering recommendation: “Don’t anticipate permission to steer.” She emphasised the significance of curiosity, urging them to “At all times ask questions.”The underlying sentiment is that management is a alternative, not a privilege granted, and the success of the UAE lies in service pushed by a robust sense of objective. Her appointment stands as a tangible end result of the UAE’s decades-long funding in schooling, alternative, and the assumption that Emirati girls are outfitted to excel on the world’s most demanding platforms. It is a historic victory not only for Shaikha Al Nowais, however for the complete nation.
What to anticipate underneath her management?
As incoming head of UN Tourism, Shaikha Al Nowais is predicted to champion accountable tourism, digital innovation, neighborhood improvement and capacity-building, particularly for ladies and youth. Trade expectations are excessive as she takes cost at a time when tourism calls for smarter coverage, sustainability-driven methods and extra collaborative world development. Her management is seen as a possibility to reshape tourism right into a extra equitable, future-driven and culturally respectful world sector, whereas strengthening partnerships between nations.
