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Tunisia’s tourism recovery has brought back volume. Under Mohamed Mehdi Haloui, the next task is to improve the quality, spread and economic value of that demand. He became director general of the Tunisian National Tourist Office in April 2025, moving into the top role after serving as the organisation’s investment director and working directly on tourism development projects.
As investment director, he encountered the central weakness in Tunisia’s recovery proposition: demand can return faster than ageing assets can be renewed. Financing hotel renovations is difficult when rates are low, seasons are short and operators carry legacy debt. Haloui’s experience evaluating projects gives him a realistic view of what marketing can and cannot fix. Stronger demand must create enough pricing power to support refurbishment and a better product.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the voice, growth and competitiveness of millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the global Travel & Tourism sector.

The partnership brings together WTTC’s specialist Travel & Tourism expertise, economic research and industry insight with ICC’s global business network spanning more than 45 million businesses across over 170 countries. Together, the organisations will provide SMEs with practical guidance, tools, insights, connections and opportunities to help them grow and compete.

Adeeb Ahamed approaches hotels as both experiences and long-duration assets. Since founding Twenty14 Holdings in 2014, he has assembled a portfolio valued at more than $750 million, with properties in the UK, the Middle East and India. The collection includes Great Scotland Yard in London, Sheraton Oman, Pullman Dubai Downtown, Port Muziris in Kochi and the historic Caledonian in Edinburgh.
Ahamed’s route into hotel investment was not conventional. He began his career in hospitality, with experience connected to Grosvenor House, JW Marriott and Baglioni in London, but later built businesses across financial services and food retail. He established LuLu International Exchange in 2009 and became the driving force behind Tablez, a food and beverage and retail platform.

Philippe Zuber leads a company whose properties are expected to be destinations in their own right. Atlantis, One&Only, SIRO and Rare Finds operate in different parts of the market, but each depends on a strong concept rather than simple accommodation. Zuber’s role is to make those concepts commercially scalable without making them feel manufactured.
He became chief executive of Kerzner International in 2020 after joining the company in 2015 as president and chief operating officer of One&Only. Before Kerzner, he held senior roles at Emaar Hospitality Group, including chief operating officer and acting chief executive. There, he contributed to the creation and growth of Vida and Rove, giving him experience of brand development across luxury and contemporary segments.