‘Heart of Europe Travel Summit’ and ‘Marhaba France’ to be held in Dubai this April for trade

Demonstrating their commitment to the Gulf region, the European national tourist boards of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France are hosting an exclusive networking event in Dubai this April, ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM). In a combined effort, Atout France’s travel trade workshop ‘Marhaba’ will kick off its two-day event on April 24 while the national tourist boards of Germany, Switzerland and Austria will take over on April 26 and host the ‘Heart of Europe Travel Summit’ at Sofitel, The Palm Resort & Spa, Dubai. More than 40 tourism suppliers from France and 80 from Germany, Switzerland and Austria – ranging from local tourist boards, hotels, destination management companies, airports, shopping facilities, transport companies as well as medical clinics – are looking forward to developing knowledge about the destinations, and also providing travel trade from the GCC with the opportunity to source products to enhance their holiday offerings for the summer season and beyond. The four tourism boards expect an attendance of over 100 buyers from the GCC region.
Highlighting the importance of the travel trade industry in the Gulf region, Sigrid de Mazieres, Director–Gulf Countries, German National Tourist Office, said, “We are excited to collaborate with our European neighbouring countries, and to facilitate business relations between our touristic partners and the local travel trade through this new innovative platform.”
The travel trade workshops will include pre-scheduled B2B appointments, cutting-edge presentations and extensive social programmes to experience the destinations’ hospitality and networking opportunities with participating decision-makers. “We believe that one of the many challenges facing the travel trade industry today is to keep abreast of the growing and changing needs of travellers from the region. This joint and unprecedented event is a direct response to assist the travel trade in selling our countries,” explained Karim Mekachera, Regional Director, Atout France Middle East.