Mr. Gibbons had been CEO of Tourism Ireland for 14 years.

CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr has announced the appointment of former Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons as Head of Tourism at the enormous NEOM development project in north west Saudi Arabia.

The Tourism position has been vacant for 2 years since former Head Andrew McEvoy returned to Australia.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is Chairman of the NEOM Company Board of Directors.

The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has committed to an investment in NEOM of US$500 billion.

The first phases of NEOM are expected to come online in 2024, and it's planned for the region to be home to more than a million people by 2026, rising to 9M by 2045.

NEOM is scheduled to welcome its first tourists in 2026.