Chief Special Advisor Gloria Guevara Manzo Leaves Saudi Ministry of Tourism

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Gloria Guevara Manzo, the chief special advisor to Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, has decided to resign from her position. Since May 2021, Manzo has been a pivotal figure in the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, working closely with Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb as the nation embarks on a significant transformation of its tourism industry. The Saudi government is investing substantial amounts—running into the hundreds of billions—to bolster its emerging tourism sector, aiming to attract 150 million tourists by 2030.

Since Manzo’s tenure began in 2021, remarkable changes have occurred:

• The number of international tourists visiting Saudi Arabia soared from 3.5 million to 27 million last year.
• The nation has successfully penetrated new tourism markets, notably China and India, which have quickly become among the top five sources of tourists.
• Saudi Arabia plans to add 320,000 new hotel rooms by the decade’s end.
• The establishment of a new national airline, Riyadh Air, is underway, with operations expected to commence next year.
• Major tourism initiatives like The Red Sea project and Diriyah Gate are now up and running.

Additionally, Manzo led the Sustainable Tourism Global Center, an initiative by the Saudi government advocating for the global tourism sector to aim for net-zero emissions.

Before her stint in Saudi Arabia, Manzo was the CEO and president of the World Travel and Tourism Council for four years, marking her as the first woman to ever hold that position. She also held the role of Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism from 2010 to 2012 and served as a special advisor on government affairs at Harvard University’s Center for Health and the Global Environment, part of the School of Public Health.

Her successor as the special advisor in the Ministry of Tourism has yet to be announced.

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