I stood before the broad glass window on the tenth floor of Tower 305 in the King Abdullah Financial District. Today is 15 April 2026.
I had just finished reviewing the final editorial piece in the first issue of SAFAR by OTAS. I should have felt a sense of completion ... of relief ... of an ending. But something inside me said that finishing was not an end, but the beginning of a new responsibility, and another chapter in the journey.
The horizon before me was clear and expansive, as though opening a fresh blank page, as though whispering in a voice only I could hear: you have reached this point ... because you never stopped.
In a city like Riyadh, where footsteps quicken and opportunities intertwine, a city that never rests or grants you a moment of silence, all its bustle and rapid rhythms could not stop memory from surging back. It carried me forcefully to another city ... the city that kindled the first spark.
Guangzhou — Canton Fair 2023: The Email That Changed the Journey
I was in the heart of the enormous Canton Fair in October 2023. The pavilions stretched endlessly, and voices overlapped like a symphony of opportunity. I was there with a group of Gulf entrepreneurs, arranging meetings, accompanying discussions, and carrying in my heart a passion much like theirs.
Then my phone vibrated. Just once, but it felt like a knock at a new door. I opened the email. I read the first line. And the world around me froze.
“Congratulations ... your project has been accepted among the projects incubated at the Tourism Growth Center.”
This email was more than acceptance into a program. It was a signal from my country, telling me clearly: someone sees what you are trying to build, and someone believes your journey deserves to continue.
The Tourism Growth Center in KAFD, the enabling arm of the Tourism Development Fund, was the platform I had not known I needed: a platform that gives you capability rather than money, and teaches you how to open doors yourself.
That email did more than change the course of the journey. It booked a return ticket to the beginning, to home, to my roots, to the point from which the story was waiting to be written anew. Amid Canton’s bustle and tremendous noise, I felt that the journey I had been organizing for others had suddenly become the beginning of my own.
An Honest Admission ... The Road Was Not Easy
Years before that email, I had known the taste of loss, loneliness, and doubt. I moved between Manila, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Cairo: cities that welcome tourists seeking happiness.
But my relationship with them was lukewarm ... without warmth or belonging, because I was not a tourist. I was a passerby carrying a dream heavier than my suitcases, searching for opportunity rather than pleasure, for a beginning rather than rest. I went to sleep with an ambition in my chest larger than the walls around me, and headed to meetings that never came to fruition and deals that evaporated at the last moment.
Yet every fall pushed me one step closer to the truth: a true entrepreneur does not wait for ideal conditions, but creates them amid the chaos. And so, step by step, I approached the field that became my destiny: digital tourism.
From a Small Room in KAFD to a Complete Ecosystem
When I returned to Saudi Arabia, I chose to start from scratch in one field alone. Ten years of deep specialization, of understanding traveler behavior, of building real solutions, and of studying the gaps in a market changing at the speed of light.
I became Regional President of the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism, IFITT. But the truth? Titles were not the story.
The story began in a small room inside the Tourism Growth Center in KAFD. There, in a shared workspace measuring only a few square meters, I reviewed handwritten papers and asked myself: where is the platform that tells our stories? Where is the voice that records our setbacks and victories?
From that question ... OTAS was born. Today, OTAS has become the largest tourism SaaS ecosystem in the countries of the Islamic world, serving Hajj and Umrah, hospitality and accommodation, experiences and activities, and supporting independent guides, trainers, and service providers. From a small room to infrastructure serving thousands of providers and travelers. This is not a technology story. It is a story of faith ... patience ... and the courage to show up despite every doubt.
Today ... After Completing Every Article
Now, after putting the final touches on the first issue of SAFAR by OTAS, I stand before that same window. I feel that every story in this issue is more than content: it is a piece of my soul, of your journeys, of an entire sector’s future, and of the vision of a nation whose ambitions reach the sky.
This magazine is more than a media project. It is the platform I had sought for years. It is the collective voice of every tourism entrepreneur, woman or man, who has experienced a setback, a victory, or a great dream. SAFAR is not a magazine. It is a movement. It is a beginning.
Now ... It Is Your Turn
I have learned that the most beautiful moments come after finishing, when you realize that what ended ... was not an ending, but the beginning of a new chapter.
From a window in Tower 305 in KAFD, to the bustle of the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, to this moment. From here, we make a promise to beauty: to shine a light on every beautiful corner of Saudi Arabia, every Saudi season of joy, every destination carrying the spirit of this nation, and to reach every entrepreneur, every service provider, and every seller of a Saudi tourism product who holds in their heart a passion worth telling.
If you are a tourism entrepreneur, if you carry a story of struggle, success, or a bold idea, if you believe digital tourism will be part of this region’s future, this is your magazine. This is your voice. And this is your opportunity.
Begin now. Share your story. Write about your experience. Become part of SAFAR. Because the blank page is still open, waiting for your own words.