For four months now, Sebastien Carre has been working as the Group Head of Hospitality at Red Sea Global, where he oversees the strategic development of the organisation’s portfolio, including The Red Sea and Amaala destinations. With over two decades of experience in luxury hospitality investments and leadership roles at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, he specialises in integrated hospitality investments, property reinvention, and innovative brand extensions.
Carre was in Dubai participating in the Arabian Travel Market Luxury Summit “Bringing the Experience Economy to Luxury Attracting Customers with One-off Moments that Matter”. In this exclusive interview, just after the session, he discusses his background, Red Sea Global’s strategic development, and the challenges and opportunities of driving luxury hospitality forward in Saudi Arabia. To begin, we asked him to tell us more about his background and what he sees as being his key challenges in this role.
Sebastien Carre: I’ve spent a few decades in the luxury hotel industry around the world, with the last 20 years at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. In my last position as Regional Vice President, I oversaw multiple Four Seasons properties across a few countries, based in Mauritius and looking after Africa, Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan, and the Seychelles. Four months ago, I decided to turn the page and embrace the development in Saudi Arabia of these amazing projects.
Red Sea Global is really moving forward very well, and the hotels are opening. What can we expect this year?
Credit goes to astute master planning. John Pagano, our CEO, is visionary in promoting integrated development and carefully planning the development of the coastline, with a strong focus on regenerative tourism. Only about 10 or 15% of the islands in the conservation zone are earmarked for development, and all of them are being developed responsibly with a low footprint. The entire coastline will be off the grid.
What’s happening is that a solid level of ambition and innovation is coming to life because it was integrated into development from the beginning. We’re well ahead of other projects in coming to life, and we’re moving forward with strong momentum. We’re opening 50 hotels in phase one between The Red Sea and Amaala. It’s a considerable achievement considering that just six years ago, there was only a village.
I’m not going to talk about the long-term vision because we want to focus on what’s happening now. Until the end of last year, people were saying, “We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that,” but there wasn’t a lot of real new stuff. Now we’re seeing hotels opening, like the Six Senses Southern Dunes and two hotels on Ummahat Island. How does the realisation of these projects change the whole paradigm?
As people discover Saudi hospitality in its original form and these superb developments and resorts, which are truly world-class in terms of comfort and sustainability commitments, it changes the paradigm for sure. It helps propel the vision that many have for the Kingdom beyond stereotypes. Once people experience the genuine hospitality of Saudi people working in the hotels, it completely changes their perspective on the destination.
This will continue to build. While we only have a few hotels open at the moment, there’s strong momentum. This year and next, we’re opening many more. The next ones will include the Thuwal Private Retreat, which is the third destination developed by Red Sea Global and the first to be exclusively owned and operated by the company. As a buyout-only destination, Thuwal Private Retreat offers an unparalleled escape to a magical island surrounded by the pristine waters of the Red Sea on Saudi Arabia’s western coast. It’s quite unexpected to have a private island available for rent off the coastline of Saudi Arabia. It’s the first in the region, so we’re very excited about that.
The next resort to open will probably be Sheybarah Island, though we don’t have a confirmed date yet. We’re aiming to open before the end of the year. As all this inventory comes to life and becomes operational, we can support a much stronger airlift. We now have direct flights from Dubai twice a week, which is a big improvement, and direct flights from Jeddah and Riyadh. More hotels coming to life will help support a more ambitious airlift with other international airlines.
I was talking to the team at the Six Senses Southern Dunes, and they mentioned how good they feel working for the organisation. Each operator has a different way of working, but it seems that people are happy working there.
It’s multiple things here. First of all, humanity in our industry is what connects people at the end of the day. We seek talent in tourism who can read the needs of others and care for them. People with strong emotional intelligence naturally gravitate toward tourism and hotels.
Saudi culture is very generous and natural, and it’s beaming. The organisation is focused on purpose. I mentioned regenerative tourism before—it’s about having an impact and leaving the place better than we found it. It’s not just about power generation or sustainability as traditionally defined. It’s about how we restore coral reefs, how we help restore old boats to pass on craftsmanship, and how we reinvigorate an old souk that’s been operating for thousands of years.
All these initiatives create a strong sense of purpose. For people who are naturally caring, it creates a strong sense of belonging. The organisation is focused on this purpose, and it’s very vibrant at Red Sea Global. You see the same commitment from people in the hotels.
You’ve worked in the region before, but now you’re based in Saudi Arabia. How does it feel to be part of such a massive endeavour?
The sense of purpose resonates with me, as it does with everyone else. I’ve worked in maybe 10 or 15 countries in my life, and in each location, purpose drives the passion that fuels the tourism and hospitality industry. There’s so much that can be done for others, whether in the workplace or beyond the hotels we operate.
The Kingdom is transforming itself and the lifestyle of its people. Accessibility to the workplace for women, generational shifts in focus, and greater access to things that were restricted just a few years ago are very transformational. I’m proud to participate in what we can do for people around us. In Saudi Arabia, it takes on a whole different dimension on a human level. It’s not just business or hotels.
