Asia’s hospitality industry is no longer defined only by hotel rooms, luxury resorts, or destination campaigns. It is being reshaped by people building new guest experiences, leading tourism transformation, scaling hospitality platforms, developing talent, and rethinking how destinations create long-term value.
The Voices Shaping Hospitality Across Asia in 2026 reflect that shift. They come from hotels, travel technology, tourism boards, media, investment, and frontline hospitality leadership. What connects them is not just seniority, but visible influence in how Asia welcomes, serves, connects, and grows.
Highlights
Haitham Mattar
Managing Director, IHG Hotels & Resorts
Haitham Mattar brings one of the most complete hospitality profiles on this list. His current role at IHG Hotels & Resorts covers business and growth strategy across the Middle East, Africa, and South West Asia, placing him at the intersection of hotel operations, investment, owner relations, and regional tourism growth.
His credibility is also built on destination transformation. As CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, he helped reposition the emirate, launched its first tourism strategy, grew tourism’s GDP contribution by 10% year-on-year, increased length of stay by 20%, improved visitor satisfaction from 80% to 95%, attracted over $600 million in hospitality investment, and supported hotel occupancy growth from 64% to 75%.
That combination makes him more than a hotel executive. He represents the kind of leader shaping hospitality through strategy, destination development, sustainable tourism, investor confidence, and customer experience. For readers, Haitham is worth following for his view of how hospitality connects to national growth, tourism infrastructure, and long-term market building.
Fahd Hamidaddin
CEO, Saudi Tourism Authority
Fahd Hamidaddin is one of the clearest examples of tourism leadership shaping hospitality at a national scale. As founding CEO and board member of the Saudi Tourism Authority, he has been responsible for building the Visit Saudi brand and positioning Saudi Arabia as a major emerging destination.
His profile also shows a strong ecosystem role. Before leading the Saudi Tourism Authority, he served as Chief Investment, Strategy, Programs, and Tourism Marketing Officer at the Saudi Ministry of Tourism, where he played a leading role in launching the eVisa in 2019 and developing partnerships across tech companies, airlines, and tour operators.
Fahd fits this list because hospitality does not grow in isolation. It grows when destinations become easier to access, easier to understand, and easier to experience. Readers can follow him to understand how tourism strategy, destination branding, partnerships, and visitor experience come together in one of Asia’s most ambitious travel markets.
Ethan Lin
Co-founder & CEO, Klook
Ethan Lin represents the technology and experience economy side of hospitality. As co-founder and CEO of Klook, he is building around one simple but powerful problem: why is it still difficult to book travel experiences?
His LinkedIn profile frames Klook as a platform focused on “momentous moments and memories.” More importantly, it notes that the company now operates with over 2,000 people across more than 20 markets. He also highlights how Klook works with tourism boards, supports smaller travel operators with data-driven insights, and helps address overtourism through social-driven discovery.
Ethan deserves a place because modern hospitality extends beyond the hotel stay. It includes what travelers discover, book, share, and remember. His work sits at the center of travel technology, local experiences, customer behavior, and digital transformation. For founders and hospitality innovators, he offers a useful lens on how platforms can reshape travel demand across Asia.
Kapil Chopra
Founder, EazyDiner and The Postcard Hotel
Kapil Chopra brings founder-led hospitality credibility across both dining and boutique luxury. He is the founder of EazyDiner and founder and CEO of The Postcard Hotel, after previously serving as President of The Oberoi Group.
That background gives him a rare bridge between legacy hospitality excellence and new hospitality entrepreneurship. EazyDiner connects to how people discover and access dining experiences, while The Postcard Hotel reflects a more intimate, experience-led approach to stays.
Kapil fits this list because he is not only operating within hospitality. He is building new hospitality models. Readers can follow him for insight into guest experience, luxury positioning, dining innovation, and the entrepreneurial side of hospitality in India and beyond.
Garth Simmons
Chief Operating Officer, Asia, Accor Premium, Midscale & Economy Division
Garth Simmons stands out for regional scale and talent development. As COO Asia for Accor’s Premium, Midscale, and Economy division, his role covers a large hospitality footprint across Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea.
His profile highlights several concrete transformation areas: the consolidation of Accor’s Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea region across 16 brands and more than 370 hotels; pandemic recovery work; localization and upskilling; and ESG-linked community programs. Notably, his profile states that Indonesia, Accor’s largest regional workforce, reached 76% of General Manager roles filled by local professionals.
That makes Garth a strong voice for the people side of hospitality. His inclusion is not just about corporate scale. It is about workforce development, local leadership, owner relationships, operations, and sustainable performance. Readers can learn from his perspective on how large hospitality groups build resilience across diverse Asian markets.
Siew Kim Beh
Chief Financial & Sustainability Officer / Managing Director Japan and Korea, The Ascott Limited
Siew Kim Beh brings a distinctive perspective to hospitality through the intersection of finance, sustainability, governance, and long-term growth. As Chief Financial & Sustainability Officer of The Ascott Limited and Managing Director for Japan and Korea, she helps oversee one of the world’s largest lodging platforms, with a portfolio spanning more than 200 cities across over 40 countries and approximately 155,000 units across 900 properties.
Her influence extends beyond operations. Prior to her current role, Siew served as Chief Executive Officer of Ascott Residence Trust, where she led the hospitality trust through a period of significant growth, expanding assets under management from S$4.7 billion to S$7.7 billion. During her tenure, the trust completed the landmark merger with Ascendas Hospitality Trust and became the first hospitality trust globally to issue a sustainability-linked bond.
In addition, Siew serves as a board member of CapitaLand Ascott Trust, which manages approximately US$8 billion in assets. Throughout her leadership journey, sustainability has remained a consistent focus, with hospitality growth, governance, investment strategy, and responsible business practices closely linked to long-term value creation.
For business leaders, hospitality professionals, and investors, Siew offers valuable insight into how hospitality organizations can scale responsibly, integrate sustainability into core business decisions, and navigate the evolving relationship between growth, governance, and stakeholder value.
Ankita Sheth
Co-founder, StayVista
Ankita Sheth represents a new generation of hospitality entrepreneurs building beyond traditional hotel models. As co-founder of StayVista, she has helped grow the company into India’s largest collection of luxury vacation villas, catering to travelers seeking more personalized and experience-led group stays.
Founded in 2015, StayVista has expanded to more than stays like villas, resorts, and residences across 85+ destinations, supported by a team of over 500 people. The company has also hosted over 12L+ guests, reflecting the growing demand for alternative accommodation and curated travel experiences.
Before launching StayVista, Ankita held a leadership role at OYO Rooms, where she oversaw acquisitions in Mumbai. Today, she continues to focus on creating new ways for travelers to discover destinations through premium villa stays and tailored hospitality experiences.
For founders, hospitality professionals, and business leaders, Ankita offers valuable insight into scaling hospitality brands, understanding changing traveler preferences, and building businesses around the future of experiential travel.
Ed Brea
General Manager, The MERU Sanur, Bali Beach Hotel & Convention Centre
Ed Brea represents the practitioner’s voice of hospitality. As General Manager of The MERU Sanur, Bali Beach Hotel, and Bali Beach Convention Centre, he operates at the intersection of luxury resort hospitality, MICE, wellness, medical tourism, and destination experience in Bali.
His leadership role within the InJourney Hospitality portfolio extends beyond traditional hotel operations, contributing to the broader Sanur hospitality ecosystem. This includes the integration of the Bali Beach Convention Centre and the emerging Sanur Health & Wellness Special Economic Zone, home to the Bali International Hospital and a growing network of specialist medical and wellness facilities.
With previous leadership experience across globally respected brands including Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, One&Only Resorts, and Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Ed brings a broad international perspective while remaining deeply connected to the realities of day-to-day hospitality operations.
He belongs on this list because hospitality is ultimately experienced on the ground. His insights offer a practical, people-focused perspective on leadership, service excellence, wellness, and the evolving role of hotels as catalysts for destination development and guest experience.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan
Group CEO, The Centaurus
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan adds an emerging-market hospitality and tourism development perspective. As Group CEO of The Centaurus, he works across hospitality management, retail, residential, and commercial ventures, with experience in Pakistan and the Middle East.
His profile notes that he developed Pakistan’s first six-star hotel managed by Accor under the Mövenpick brand. It also highlights his role as the immediate former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he organized major property, construction, housing, industrial, tourism, automotive, IT, and cultural initiatives.
His inclusion broadens the list beyond mature hospitality markets. Sardar represents how hospitality connects to real estate, tourism infrastructure, events, trade, and city development. For readers, he offers a view of hospitality as part of a wider economic ecosystem.
Dinushka Chandrasena
Editor-in-Chief, Travel Talk Asia
Dinushka Chandrasena is one of the most important non-operator voices on this list. As Editor-in-Chief of Travel Talk Asia, she has spent more than two decades in travel journalism, marketing, communications, and tourism development.
Her profile shows strong industry-building credentials. She co-founded Sri Lanka’s first travel trade monthly, Travel Talk, in 2003. Beyond this, she also serves on the board of Skål International Asia as Director of Communications and Public Relations, one of the world’s most respected global travel industry organisations, and was also Past President of Skal International Colombo.
Professionally, she also worked as a Tourism Specialist for the USAID Indo-Pacific Opportunity Project and is the Director of Operations at The Sri Lanka Tourism Alliance, where she has supported six International Donor-funded programs and 17 initiatives spanning sustainable tourism, innovation, collaboration, training, employment, and industry data.
Dinushka deserves to be featured because hospitality conversations are shaped not only by those who operate hotels, but also by those who connect the industry, tell its stories, and help build its future. Readers can follow her for insight into tourism collaboration, industry storytelling, sustainability, and Sri Lanka’s hospitality ecosystem.
The Future of Hospitality Will Be Built by Many Kinds of Leaders
The Voices Shaping Hospitality Across Asia in 2026 show that the industry’s future is not being written by one type of leader.
Some are building destinations. Others focus on scaling digital platforms. Meanwhile, a few are completely transforming traditional hotel groups. Others are strengthening talent, improving guest experience, developing tourism ecosystems, or shaping the stories that connect the sector.
Together, they show why hospitality remains one of Asia’s most important business and cultural industries. It creates jobs, attracts investment, supports local communities, moves people across borders, and shapes how travelers experience a place.
For NewInAsia readers, the lesson is clear: the next chapter of hospitality in Asia will be shaped by leaders who understand both service and strategy, both technology and humanity, both growth and responsibility.
Highlights
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