Power List 30 - 2023
The Tourism Power List 30, curated by the World Tourism Forum Institute, highlights the visionary leaders and innovators shaping the global tourism landscape. In 2023, the industry saw transformative trends such as sustainable travel, technological advancements, and a growing demand for immersive experiences. This list celebrates the influential figures—CEOs, researchers, and policymakers—driving these changes and redefining modern travel, showcasing their contributions to innovation and sustainability as they shape the future of tourism. Explore the individuals leading the charge in this dynamic, evolving sector.
Here is the power list of 2023:
Eric Adams
Mayor of New York City
Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and former police officer, currently serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since 2022. An ideologically conservative member of the Democratic Party, Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for more than 20 years, retiring at the rank of captain. He served in the New York State Senate from 2006 to 2013, representing the 20th Senate district in Brooklyn. In November 2013, Adams was elected Brooklyn Borough President, the first African-American to hold the position, and reelected in November 2017.
Ahmed Al Khateeb
Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia
Ahmed bin Aqil al-Khateeb is a Saudi Arabian bureaucrat who has been serving as Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia since February 2020. He previously led the country’s General Entertainment Authority as its inaugural president between May 2016 and June 2018 and was previously Minister of Health from January to April 2015.He is also a former advisor at the Saudi Royal Court and has served as the chairman of Saudi Arabian Military Industries as well as the Saudi Fund for Development.
Paolo Ardoino
CEO of Tether
Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of Tether. Tether is one of the most important companies in crypto and also one of the most notorious. Its business is going gangbusters as its namesake stablecoin has swollen to over $90 billion in market value, which lets Tether make fat margins in this era of 5.5% Fed rates.
Ed Bastian
CEO of Delta Airlines
Edward Herman Bastian is an American business executive. He is the ninth and current chief executive officer of Delta Air Lines, serving in this role since May 2, 2016.
Sebastian Bazin
CEO of Accor
Sébastien Bazin is a French businessman. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of AccorHotels. As CEO of Accor, he has committed to the UN’s HeForShe campaign that seeks to promote women’s and men’s rights by pledging to reach parity in pay and equality between genders by 2020.
Brian Chesky
Co-founder and CEO of Airbnb
Brian Joseph Chesky is an American businessman and industrial designer and the co-founder and CEO of Airbnb. As of January 2024, Chesky is the 232nd richest person in the world according to Forbes, with a net worth of $9.4 billion, mostly due to his ownership of 76 million shares of Airbnb.
Anthony Capuano
President and CEO of Marriott International
Anthony Capuano is President and CEO of Marriott International, Inc. In his role, Mr. Capuano presides over the world’s largest hospitality company and some of the most iconic brands in travel. The company now has nearly 8,700 properties across 139 countries and territories and over 30 brands. It also has the travel industry’s largest customer loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, which has more than 192 million members.
Luigi Cabrini
Chair Person of Global Sustainable Tourism Council
Luigi Cabrini chairs the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, leading global initiatives on sustainable tourism. He directed the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Programme until 2014 and previously held positions in Europe and as Secretary of the General Assembly and Executive Council. With 20 years of UN engagement in development and refugee protection, Cabrini is multilingual and has authored numerous articles and speeches.
Bilal Ekşi
CEO of Turkish Airlines
Bilal Ekşi began his career at Turkish Airlines in 2003, holding various leadership roles including Head of Overhaul Workshops and Chief Ground Operations Officer. He later served as Chief Production Officer at Turkish Technic and as Executive Vice President at Turkish Engine Center. In 2010, Ekşi transitioned to become General Manager of Cyprus Turkish Airlines. In April 2011, he left Turkish Airlines to lead the Directorate General of Turkish Civil Aviation. Finally, on October 21, 2016, Ekşi was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines.
Sebastian Ebel
CEO of TUI Group
Sebastian Ebel has been CEO of the TUI Group since 1 October 2022. Prior to that, he had been Chief Financial Officer of the Group since 2021.
Glenn D. Fogel
CEO of Booking Holdings
Glenn D. Fogel is Booking Holdings’ Chief Executive Officer and President, a position he has held since January 2017, and Chief Executive Officer of Booking.com, a position he has held since June 2019.
Gianni Infantino
President of FIFA
Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino is a Swiss-Italian football administrator and the president of FIFA since February 2016. He was re-elected in June 2019 and in March 2023. In January 2020, he was also elected a member of the International Olympic Committee.
Robert Isom
CEO of American Airlines
Robert Isom is Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines Group and American Airlines, its principal subsidiary company. He also serves on the airline’s board of directors. Robert assumed the role of CEO in March 2022. Robert served as President of American from 2016 to 2022.
Amit Jain
CEO of Emaar
Mr. Amit Jain, Group Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Properties, joined the company in 2006. He is responsible for driving the Group’s strategy and overall management of its operations. He has over 22 years of experience at senior positions with Real Estate, Banking industries and as Management Consultant. He is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a CFA Charter holder from the CFA Institute, USA.
Paul Kagame
President of Rwanda
Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the fourth President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a rebel armed force which invaded Rwanda in 1990.
Olga Kefalogianni
Minister of Tourism of Greece
Olga Kefalogianni is a Greek politician who served as Minister of Tourism of the Greek Government from 2012 to 2015 and again since 27 June 2023. She was appointed in this position by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in June 2012. She is a Member of Parliament, representing the New Democracy party.
Peter M Kern
CEO of Expedia Group
Kern has been a director of Expedia Group since completion of the IAC/Expedia Group Spin- Off, has served as Vice Chairman of Expedia Group since June 2018, and has served as Chief Executive Officer of Expedia Group since April 2020.
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
Sadiq Aman Khan Hon FRIBA is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party’s soft left and has been ideologically characterised as a social democrat.
Dara Khosrowshahi
CEO of Uber
Dara Khosrowshahi is an Iranian-American business executive who is the chief executive officer of Uber. He was previously CEO of Expedia Group, a company that owns several travel fare aggregators.
Neşet Koçkar
Founder of ANEX Tour
Neşet Koçkar founded ANEX Tourism Group, which operates as ANEX Tour in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Germany, and as OREX Travel in Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. With 26 Boeing aircraft and three airline companies under AZUR Air, ANEX is a major player in air transportation. Additionally, it includes AZEX brokerage, ADO Aviation, and AZUR Aviation. ANEX Tour serves 3 million tourists annually across various countries, with 318 tour operator offices in Russia and 29 sales offices worldwide.
Jason T. Liberty
CEO of Royal Caribbean Group
Jason Liberty is President and Chief Executive Officer for Royal Caribbean Group, which consists of three global cruise brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea Cruises, as well as TUI Cruises and Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, of which it is a 50% owner in a joint venture.
Ma Xu Lun
Director & General Manager at China Southern Air Holding
Xu Lun Ma is a businessperson who has been the head of 6 different companies and currently is Director & General Manager at China Southern Air Holding Co.
Luis Maroto
CEO of Amadeus
Mr. Maroto became President & CEO of Amadeus on 1 January 2011. From January 2009 to December 2010, he was Deputy CEO of Amadeus, with responsibility for overall company strategy as well as line management of the finance, internal audit, legal and human resources functions.
Christopher J. Nassetta
CEO of Hilton Worldwide
Christopher J. Nassetta is an American businessman, who has served as president and chief executive officer of Hilton Worldwide since October 2007. He attended the University of Virginia.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Football Player
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team.
Stephen Squeri
CEO of American Express
Stephen Squeri is the CEO of American Express. He has been in the position since February 1, 2018. He has been a vice chairman of American Express since 2015 and was group president of Amex’s global corporate services group before that.
William M. Walsh
Director General of IATA
William Matthew Walsh is an Irish airline executive who is currently the Director General of the International Air Transport Association. Until 2020, he was CEO of International Airlines Group, and had previously been CEO of Aer Lingus and British Airways.
Xu Xiaoliang
C0-CEO of Fosun International
Fosun International Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company. Founded in 1992 by Guo Guangchang and four others, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and was incorporated in Hong Kong in 2004. Its Co-CEOs are Chen Qiyu and Xu Xiaoliang.
Sun Yeli
Minister of Culture and Tourism of China
Sun Yeli is a Chinese politician who is the current director of the State Council Information Office, a deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party and the Minister of Culture and Tourism.
Mark Zuckerberg
CEO of Meta
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded the social media service Facebook, along with his Harvard roommates in 2004, and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is executive chairman, chief executive officer and controlling shareholder