Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017, which takes place in Dubai World Trade Centre from April 24-27, is set to be the biggest in the event’s 24-year history.
More than 30,000 visitors are expected to attend the four-day show, with over 2,800 exhibiting companies, forcing organizer Reed Travel Exhibitions to open up an additional hall this year to cope with the increased demand.
Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said: “The show has experienced phenomenal growth of over 70% since 2012 and this year already looks like it’s going to break all previous records. We have more than 100 new exhibitors signed up and 65 country pavilions, while we expect representation from 140 countries over the course of the event.
“Clearly Expo2020 is driving growth in Dubai as the emirate aims to complete 160,000 hotel rooms in time to welcome an additional five million visitors over the course of the event. However, the GCC countries as a whole are looking towards tourism as a way of diversifying their economies away from their reliance on hydrocarbon receipts.
“And throughout the wider MENA region, rising youth unemployment rates are driving governments to invest in tourism which is not just a labour-intensive sector, it generates billions in foreign currency earnings.”
The official show theme for ATM 2017 is experiential travel, taking in the adventure, culture, heritage, wellness & spa, sport, theme park, halal and cruise tourism segments, which are currently trending globally. This has been integrated across all show verticals and many activities, including focused seminars and roundtable events.
“Today’s travelers are seeking more than amenities and creature comforts; more than a sight-seeing tour and a picture beside a famous landmark. The increasing trend is for an immersive style of tourism, which encompasses different areas of local life – culinary, culture, history, shopping, nature, sports, halal, theme parks, wellness and spa, medical tourism and extreme luxury – and can be the basis for a holistic travel experience, by connecting with a place rather than just visiting it,” said Press.
“In this respect, the Middle East has a rich tapestry of offerings, from overnight stays in a stone house in remote Omani villages to a wander around the authentic and labyrinthine Souq Waqif in Doha or alternatively for foodies, a tour of Old Dubai, in search of wholesome local street delicacies.”
The opening session of this year’s event will look at the role Expo2020 plays in delivering the UAE Government’s long-term vision for economic diversification. Now just three years away, high level stakeholders, including Marjan Faraidooni, VP Legacy, Impact & Development, Expo2020; Issam Kazim, CEO of DTCM; Anita Mehra, SVP Communications and Reputation, Dubai Airports; and Deidre Wells OBE, CEO, UKinbound, will take part in a panel discussion about the upcoming event.
The UNWTO & ATM Ministerial Forum, entitled ‘Fostering the contribution of tourism to sustainable economic growth and diversification in the MENA region’, will see 20 Ministers in attendance. And ILTM Arabia will play host to one-to-one pre-scheduled appointments between suppliers of luxury products and destinations from around the world to an audience of high net worth individuals.
Marketing to experiential travellers will be an integral part of the ATM Travel Tech seminar programme. Press said: “The industry as a whole is embracing technology like never before, to compete in a digital market place where accessibility and speed are critical to the demands of today’s tech-savvy travelers.”
New this year, the inaugural Halal Travel Summit, taking place on the Global Stage, will showcase leading Muslim travel industry experts including Rafi-uddin Shikoh, CEO of DinarStandard and Faeez Fadhlillah, CEO of Salam Standard & Tripfez, who will discuss halal destination strategies and how to sell halal travel.
Other popular features returning to the show repertoire this year include the Leaders Breakfast, Wellness and Spa Lounge (which has grown by 40% and now includes 35 international suppliers and 35 Middle East specialist buyers), Travel Agent Academy, Buyers Club and the Bloggers Speed Networking events. There will also be a series of seminars taking place in the Showcase Theatre.
The ATM Best Stand Awards are back for a third year and will see a line-up of top judges and visitors to the annual industry event acknowledge the design, creativity and positioning of exhibiting companies’ physical presence at the annual showcase.
ATM – considered by many industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector, witnessed a year-on-year visitor attendance increase of 9% to over 28,500 in 2016, with 2,785 exhibiting companies, signing business deals worth more than US$ 2.5 billion over four days.
该展览在阿联酋副总统兼总理谢赫·穆罕默德·本·拉希德·阿勒马克图姆殿下的主持下举行，现已发展成为该地区同类展览中最大的展览，也是世界上最大的展览之一。
For more information on Arabian Travel Market 2017, please log on to arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.
阿拉伯旅游市场（ATM）是中东地区针对入境和出境旅游专业人士举办的领先的国际旅行和旅游盛会。 2016年的ATM吸引了近40,000名行业专业人士，在四天内达成了价值2.5亿美元的交易。
第24届ATM将在迪拜世界贸易中心的2,500个展厅内展示12多家参展公司，这使其成为24年来最大的ATM。
Arabian Travel Market is part of Reed Travel Exhibition’s World Travel Market events, which also includes WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
World Travel Market Events comprise of the leading leisure travel events in the world; World Travel Market London, WTM Latin America in Sao Paulo, WTM Africa in Cape Town and Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
WTM产品组合的活动由全球旅行和旅游业的高级管理人员参加，以开展业务交易并发现最新的研究，见识和见解。
WTM由世界领先的活动组织者Reed Exhibitions拥有。
eTN是ATM的媒体合作伙伴。
