FHS Saudi Arabia launches NextGen Investment Forum to help deliver KSA’s future leaders in hospitality

The Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia, taking place in Riyadh, 11-13 May, will host the region’s first NextGen Investment Forum to address the challenges – and opportunities – surrounding education, training and talent retention in KSA’s growing hospitality sectors.

Investing in the next generation of leaders in hospitality is fundamental to delivering KSA’s Vision 2030 goals, according to industry experts, who will come together at FHS to explore and discuss issues such as bridging skill gaps, creating new pathways to career growth, empowering Saudi nationals and encouraging more women to take up a career in hospitality.

The event takes place on the first day of FHS Saudi Arabia, Sunday 11 May, from 3:00pm, with more than 30 speakers set to take part. Through a series of curated roundtable discussions, the forum will bring together key industry stakeholders to address the most pressing challenges in hospitality education and retention with a focus on solution-oriented conversations and actionable outcomes to help shape the future of hospitality education and workforce development.

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of FHS organiser The Bench, said: “By 2030, KSA’s hospitality and tourism transformation will create more than a million new jobs, deliver 320,000 new hotel rooms, and inject around US$46 billion into the country’s economy. And with Saudi Arabia set to welcome 150 million annual tourists in the next five years, it goes without saying that the right investment today is key to creating the hospitality leaders of tomorrow.

“We are proud to launch this first-of-its-kind initiative at FHS Saudi Arabia and look to drawing inspiration from highly respected industry experts during an afternoon of collaboration, insight and actionable solutions to shape the future of KSA’s hospitality industry.”

The NextGen Investment Forum aims to help develop a knowledgeable, capable workforce through partnerships with government entities, giga projects, universities, international education industry leaders and innovative tech companies, in turn creating a comprehensive ecosystem that supports education and career development. The initiative will also facilitate public-private partnerships to drive innovation and investment in education.

Discussions will focus on four main themes: investing in people for a future-ready hospitality industry; bridging the gap between academia and industry needs; exploring funding and investment opportunities in hospitality education; and enhancing the industry’s appeal to retain talent. AI, remote working, the design of student housing and boosting the number of women in the industry – currently only 8% of the total workforce – are also on the agenda.

First confirmed speakers for the NextGen Investment Forum include Dr. Abeer A. Alamri, Strategic Planning and Monitoring Deputyship, Ministry of Tourism; Dr. Fabien Fresnel, Chief Executive Officer, Riyadh School of Tourism and Hospitality; A.J Singh, Founding Director, Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Lameese Damiri, Head of Education, UNTO.

FHS Saudi Arabia is at Mandarin Oriental Al Faisaliah, Riyadh, 11-13 May 2025, with the overarching theme of “Where Vision Shapes Opportunity”. More than 1,400 delegates are expected to attend. For full details and to register, visit https://www.futurehospitality.com/sa.