Senior Director - Travel Trade

The Red Sea Development Company

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive global, regional, and local Travel Trade strategy to unlock demand across priority markets.
• Build and maintain strong partnerships with global tour operators, travel agents, OTAs, bed banks, wholesalers, and DMCs.
• Ensure alignment of trade initiatives with the destination s overall marketing, sales, and commercial strategies.
• Act as the key spokesperson and thought leader for the destination in the global trade ecosystem.

Execution & Delivery:

• Lead participation in international trade shows, roadshows, and B2B marketing activations and sales mission.
• Oversee the design and execution of trade training programs, FAM trips, and partner engagement platforms.
• Develop standardized toolkits and partner onboarding frameworks for consistent trade engagement.
• Monitor global distribution trends, competitor destinations, and market shifts to refine strategy continuously.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Collaborate closely with destinations hotel operators to align trade initiatives and support their individual sales networks.
• Establish a governance model to coordinate with internal functions (Destination Marketing, Comms, Events, Online Experience, Customer Care, MICE, Partnerships) and external stakeholders (Saudia, STA, MoT).
• Provide operators with structured opportunities to participate in destination-led activations and sales missions.
• Ensure open communication with Sales Directors and commercial teams across all hotel operators.

Performance & ROI:

• Define and implement KPIs to measure the impact of trade activities on awareness, distribution, and bookings.
• Regularly report performance metrics to the Group Head of Marketing and executive leadership.
• Optimize budgets and resource allocation to ensure cost-effective, high-impact activations.

Managerial Responsibilities

• Contribute to the Marketing and Commercial strategy and business plans from the Department s perspective in alignment with RSG s vision and mission.
• Develop the Travel Trade business plans, objectives, KPIs, and operational plans, ensuring successful implementation.
• Prepare and manage the Travel trade function annual budget, aligning resources with planned activities and monitoring financial performance.
• Oversee development and adherence to Department policies and procedures; ensure departmental KPIs are developed, cascaded, and monitored.
• Ensure effective staffing, professional development, and deployment of Department staff in coordination with the Group Head of Marketing.
• Manage the Travel Trade function relationship with internal and external customers to ensure needs are addressed efficiently.

Key Processes / Workflows

• Trade Strategy Development & Execution
• Partner Engagement & Management
• Events & Activations Workflow
• Training & FAM Trip Programs
• Stakeholder Governance & Alignment
• Performance Measurement & Reporting
• Budgeting & Resource Allocation