From Abu Dhabi to the world: Emirati founder of Rotana Hotels remembers the UAE of desert roads, palm-frond homes

From Abu Dhabi to the world: Emirati founder of Rotana Hotels remembers the UAE of desert roads, palm-frond homes

Nasser Al Nowais speaks to Khaleej Times about growing up in an Abu Dhabi few remember, and helping form it into one of the world’s leading destinations

Published: Thu 1 Dec 2022, 2:33 PM

Known as one of the UAE’s leading figures in the hotel industry, Nasser Al Nowais has been at the forefront of bringing Abu Dhabi and the UAE to the world for over three decades.

It is almost 30 years since the pioneering Emirati launched the first Rotana hotel in Abu Dhabi, a destination which remains a historical part of the emirate’s history and development into tourism.

An economist by education and a graduate of New York University, Mr. Al Nowais has been at the helm of the emirate’s growth, with roles including founding the Abu Dhabi National Hotels Company, which he chaired for 14 years, now the largest hotel and industrial catering company in the region.

During his illustrious career he has been the Managing Director of the Abu Dhabi Fund where he administered numerous tourist, industrial and agricultural investments as well as infrastructure projects in the Middle-East and Africa, in addition to his holding the position of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance and Industry.

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