Ufi Ibrahim
Chief Operating Officer
World Travel & Tourism Council

As Chief Operating Officer of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), Ufi Ibrahim is responsible for the successful realisation of the Council's mission, aims and objectives. WTTC is the forum for the Chairs and Chief Executives of the industry's foremost 100 global Travel & Tourism companies. Working directly with the leaders of industry, Ms Ibrahim oversees the articulation and the implementation of the Council's unique mandate to raise awareness of the economic and social importance of Travel & Tourism. She leads all WTTC's activities worldwide, including the Council's research, strategy and development, policy, communications and operations.

As one of the industry's top officers, Ms Ibrahim works with heads of state and government, cabinet ministers and their teams, advising on tourism policy and sustainable development. Her expertise extends to tourism economics, policy and environmental issues. Under her supervision, WTTC has issued several special country reports for governments, including Botswana, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, China PRC, Russia, South Africa and the Lisbon region in Portugal.

Over the past eight years, Ms Ibrahim has initiated and developed several key projects for WTTC, including the establishment of the annual Global Travel & Tourism Summit, which she continues to lead. The Summit is the industry's most prestigious gathering, attracting more than 1,000 leaders of government and industry for discussions that shape future policies. Ms Ibrahim leads negotiations with governments to ensure the success of the event. As the author of the Summit programme, she also works closely with industry leaders to define the key topics for dialogue in the signature 'Round', whose creation she led.

Under Ms Ibrahim's leadership, hugely successful WTTC summits have taken place in Doha 2004, Delhi 2005, Washington DC 2006, Lisbon 2007, Dubai 2008 and Florianópolis 2009. As a result, countries across the world are now competing to host the Summit. The forthcoming 10th Global Travel & Tourism Summit, which will be held in Beijing, China, in May 2010, will again be authored and managed by Ms Ibrahim.

Ms Ibrahim is also directly responsible for the establishment of WTTC's presence in the Middle East, the creation of the WTTC Middle East Forum, which seats the region's top industry leaders on its board, and the successful partnership formed with the Government of Dubai, which resulted in the 8th Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Dubai, April 2008.

As a key spokesperson for WTTC, Ms Ibrahim speaks regularly at international conferences and events organised by OECD, Cityscape, the Global Real Estate Institute, Urban Land Institute, World Travel Market, Arabian Travel Market, International Hotel Investment Forum, Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, and many others. She is also an active industry spokesperson for press and media, including post-crisis reporting such as following 9/11, SARS, and the Indian Ocean seaquake and tsunami.

Prior to joining WTTC, Ms Ibrahim had been in charge of the American Express Global Passport and Visa Unit. This specialised unit comprising 30 experts facilitated immigration services to the chief executives of Amex's leading clients. During her eight years in this role, Ms Ibrahim became a specialist on immigration policy. In 1999, she advised a United Nations (UNWTO) led project on the facilitation of travel through the easing of visa restrictions in countries along the Silk Route, as a means of accelerating economic and social advancement in the respective countries.

Ms Ibrahim graduated with Honours from the London Metropolitan University in 1991 as a Bachelor of Arts in Leisure & Tourism Management studies. She subsequently graduated with merit in December 2008 with an MBA from the Open University: her thesis discussed competitive differentiation through knowledge management in organisations.

A permanent member of the International Hotel Investment Conference Advisory Board and of the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference Advisory Board, Ms Ibrahim is also an active member of the World Economic Forum Tourism Advisory Board, which leads the development of the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Monitor.