Shaji Thomas is the Advisor to the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and advises on strategies and projects within the Tourism Sector and Destination Management. He was the Vice President of Destination Tourism Development for Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority from 2016 until 2019 and within his remit, he managed B2B partnerships, MICE and Market insights. Responsible for initiating strategic alliances with travel trade associations and airlines among other major industry players, Shaji was key to boosting international visitor numbers to Ras Al Khaimah – the destination saw a growth in visitors from 740,000 in 2016 to 1.072 million in 2018.
Prior to joining RAK TDA, Shaji was the Area Director of Sales and Marketing for Hyatt Hotels (in Dubai and West India) and prior to that, the Area Director of Sales for IHG Northern Gulf (Kuwait and Bahrain). During these stints, he was responsible for providing support and strategic oversight to all brands across functions of Sales, Marketing, Events and Revenue Management.
An Engineering school graduate with multiple Management Development Program certifications, Shaji has been associated with varied sectors and Industries in his illustrious career of 26 years. He has been bestowed many awards in the commercial arena, worthy of mentioning being ‘Top 10 Sales & Marketing personnel in India’ by Travel Span in 2014 and being selected as ‘100 most influential leaders in Tourism Industry’ by Global MICE Congress & Awards in 2019.
