Arabian Travel Market set to open today

Tourism professionals from around the world are flocking to Dubai for Arabian Travel Market, the leading event for the travel industry in the Middle East, which returns to the Dubai World Trade Centre today (May 9).

The event will welcome more than 20,000 visitors and over 1,500 exhibiting companies during the four-day tourism showcase, which concludes on Thursday, May 12. Around 112 countries will be featured on the show floor ranging from Japan to Jamaica and South Africa to Italy.

Industry professionals will have the opportunity to meet and discuss the latest trends from a cross-section of travel, including technology, transport, sustainability, events and business.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME – Arabian Travel Market, said Arabian Travel Market 2022 will reiterate the importance of the travel industry as “we continue to address the challenges of Covid-19 while also outlining how we drive the industry forward".

“The tourism industry has rebounded incredibly well. As a result, we have seen a clear uptick in participation, with floor space increasing by over 85 per cent compared to the previous year and Middle East exhibitor space eclipsing 2019 levels. We now have the perfect opportunity to hear from industry professionals on the latest trends helping the industry recover and flourish in many instances,” Curtis said.

In line with this year’s theme of ‘The future of international travel and tourism’, ATM 2022 will unveil new technology that will eliminate the need for business cards and allow exhibitors and visitors to share details, brochures and marketing material via innovative scanners and badges.

Further underscoring the technology focus is the revamped and rebranded ATM Travel Tech event, previously called Travel Forward. A host of exciting sessions will take place, including the vision for the NEOM and its strategy for creating memorable experiences by Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism, Neom.

Elsewhere on the agenda, Zeina Dagher, CEO Emaar Entertainment, will look at the future of visitor attractions, traveller trends, and what’s next in distribution, attraction tech and the guest experience.

The inaugural ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition, which was launched earlier this year, will see 15 travel, tourism and hospitality start-ups pitch for $500,000 of funding and potentially a further $500,000 of investment as part of the hit TV show, Meet the Drapers.

Making their debut at the live show, ARIVALDubai@ATM forum and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) will focus on current and future trends for tour operators and attractions. ATM will also include in-depth buyer forums dedicated to India and Saudi Arabia, live interviews with aviation and hospitality experts and will feature the return of ILTM Arabia with its focus on the lucrative luxury travel market.

Capitalising on the growth of regional tourism investment, the ITIC-ATM Middle East Summit – hosted jointly by ATM and the International Tourism Investment Conference (ITIC) – will spotlight access to project finance in the post-Covid era and include a high-profile ministerial session.

— business@khaleejtimes.com