Tag Archives: Arabian Travel Market

The cuisine, art, fashion and landscapes of Italy are attracting more visitors from the Middle East in recent years, with figures released today showing visitor numbers increased by 21.97 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016, a rise from 157,000 to nearly 200,000 travellers. The figures were announced during a press conference at the Arabian Travel Market, which was hosted by Filippo Del Corno, Deputy Major for Culture, Municipality of Milan; Lara Magoni, Councilor for Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion of the Lombardy region and Alessandra Zita from the Italian Government Tourist Board (ENIT). Visitors from the UAE are the top Middle Eastern spenders in Italy parting with 180 million euros in 2017, followed by visitors from Saudi Arabia recording 120.3 million euros spend in the same year. ENIT has also revealed that the most popular regions for travellers from the Middle East include Lazio, Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Piedmont and Emilia Romagna. According to ENIT, the Made In Italy brand that is synonoumus with high-quality design, craftsmanship and production, is a driving force behind the increasing tourist figures from the Middle East. The Lombardy region of Italy (an area which covers Milan, Lake Como and Lake Garda), had the privilege to host the eclectic artist, Leonardo da Vinci, for many years of his working life. This year is the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death and his creative genius, along with the region’s cuisine, fashion and design, is being celebrated during ATM in a dedicated zone at the Italian Pavillion. In addition to the Lombardy region zone, there is a dedicated area demonstrating Italian-style wellness for visitors to enjoy; a virtual reality experience covering art, food and lifestyle all …

Reed Travel Exhibitions will launch Arabian Travel Week – an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows – during the 2019 edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) which opens its doors on April 28 for four days of business networking opportunities and insightful seminar sessions at Dubai World Trade Centre.  Arabian Travel Week comprises ATM 2019 and ILTM Arabia as well as CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa 2019 – a new route development forum launching this year and a new consumer-led event ATM Holiday Shopper which take place on April 27. Claude Blanc, WTM Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions said, “The success of both ATM and ILTM Arabia has provided us with the platform to not only introduce two new events for 2019 – but to create a travel week which encompasses the Middle East’s inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism and luxury travel as well as introducing an exclusive consumer event and providing a dedicated networking forum for the region’s top airline specialists, aviation authorities, tourism boards, airports and tour operators.” According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the UAE’s economy is predicted to rise 4.1 percent per annum to AED 108.4bn by 2028. “Building on these figures, we are confident Arabian Travel Week will be a key driver attracting top international destinations to the attention of the Middle East’s travel trade and consumers and equally, marketing the Middle East to strategic overseas tour operators and travel professionals,” Blanc said Now in its 26th year, ATM 2019 will welcome over 2,500 exhibiting companies and an expected 40,000 industry professionals, with over 150 countries represented, 65 national pavilions, and …

Sabre Corporation is sponsoring the Travel Technology Theatre at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM 2019), from April 28 to May 1, 2019. Executive speakers from Sabre and guest customers will participate in the seminar programme and showcase latest technology in the travel and hospitality sector including NDC, emerging technology, retailing and digitalisation and discuss industry challenges and opportunities. Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East will be present at the event seminar and speak about the evolution of the travel industry in the Middle East and how can companies leverage new trends and technology to respond to customers’ expectations. “This is such an exciting time for the travel sector. The industry is evolving, constantly adapting to the increasing expectations of tech-travelers, which are higher and more diverse than ever before,” said Iyer. “The rise of new technologies and trends are creating more opportunities for all players in the travel industry and we are here to support our customers and the market to learn about everything new in travel and how to leverage these opportunities.” Sabre is also highlighting through its seminar programme the evolution of travel distribution and how NDC is changing the landscape of the industry. “Due to growing pressure from the industry, travel suppliers are increasingly differentiating their offerings – looking to retail and merchandise to travellers in new ways – to maximize their revenues. Sabre isn’t waiting for NDC adoption – we believe it is just one component of a wider shift in retailing and distribution in the travel industry, and we are this year developing exciting new technology that will help suppliers to tell their stories effectively through the indirect channel.” Iyer added.

The impact of disruptive technologies on the tourism industry is set to create multi-billion dollar savings through the use of IoT, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and wearable technology according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, set to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28 to May 1, 2019. The latest research from Colliers International, in partnership with ATM 2019, reveals that in addition to vast cost savings, the customer experience is set to be more streamlined with travel set to become better, smoother and more personalised with travel bookings on VR platforms, AI chatbots guiding customers through the booking process and IoT providing internet based inter-connectivity between everyday devices. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “Technology, and the use of technology, is evolving every day. The tourism industry is at the very forefront of tech innovation with companies investing huge sums of money to improve the customer journey and experience.” ATM 2019 has adopted cutting-edge technology and innovation as its main theme and this will be integrated across all show verticals and activities, including focused seminar sessions. Discussing the defining evolutions of hospitality technology, the Travel Tech Show will return to ATM 2019 with 45 dedicated international exhibitors and an influential agenda of discussion and debate in the Travel Tech Theatre – sponsored by Sabre Corporation. Launching this year will be the inaugural Arabian Travel Week, an umbrella brand which comprises four co-located shows: ATM 2019; Connect Middle East, India and Africa – a new route development forum, ILTM Arabia and new consumer-led event – ATM Holiday Shopper.

The S Hotel Al Barsha has confirmed its participation at Arabian Travel Market 2019 to be held from April 28 to May 1 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Shailesh Grover, General Manager, The S Hotel Al Barsha, said, “As the region’s leading travel fair, Arabian Travel Market offers us a fabulous platform to introduce and showcase our first The S Hotel in the Middle East, The S Hotel Al Barsha.” A recent research report released by Arabian Travel Market ahead of the major event reveals that the UAE is set to welcome 8.92 million visitors from top five source markets by 2023. The report says that the country’s top three source markets for inbound tourism are India, KSA and the UK. The number of Indian visitors travelling to the UAE will increase at a CAGR of 7% to 3.01 million in 2023, while arrivals from Saudi Arabia and the UK will witness an increase of 2% and 1% to 1.76 million and 1.28 million respectively over the same period. “Our marketing efforts are geared towards attracting guests from these high-growth segments. Our focus is to get a bigger slice of the inbound tourists from India, KSA, the UK, China and Russia. We’re also targeting the GCC & Middle East, Southeast Asia, Far East Asia, Europe and Latin America,” Grover explains.    

Expo 2020 and its legacy, District 2020, are expected to have a long-term influence on the growth of inbound arrivals to the UAE from the country’s top five source markets between 2018 and 2023, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market, set to take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28-May 1, 2019. Looking at the country’s top three source markets, the number of Indian visitors travelling to the UAE will increase at a CAGR of 7 per cent to 3.01 million in 2023, while arrivals from Saudi Arabia and the UK will witness an increase of 2 per cent and 1 per cent to 1.76 million and 1.28 million respectively over the same period. While the UAE’s top source market rankings are expected to remain mostly unchanged post-Expo 2020 – the latest research from Colliers International, in partnership with ATM, reveals the Russian and Chinese source markets will show above average annual growth rates for inbound passenger arrivals. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director—ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent to 1.6 million in 2023, while the number of Chinese tourists visiting the UAE will increase at a CAGR of 8 per cent to 1.27 million over the same period, according to the data. Taking a look at the other key drivers, besides Expo 2020, Russian visitors to the UAE have grown in recent years, due to the introduction of additional and direct airline routes. According to some analysts, China’s middle-class will swell to 338 million households by 2020, a 13 per cent increase in just five years. Therefore, the growth …

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, has announced the launch of Arabian Travel Week – an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows – ATM 2019; CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa; ILTM Arabia and ATM Holiday Shopper. ATM is set to be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 27–May 1, 2019. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director–ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “The success of both ATM and ILTM Arabia has provided us with the platform to not only introduce two new events for 2019 but also create a travel week which encompasses the Middle East’s inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism and luxury travel as well as providing a dedicated networking forum for the region’s top airline specialists, aviation authorities, tourism boards, airports and tour operators.” ATM, the annual global event for the Middle East inbound and outbound travel industry, will showcase over 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 28,000 buyers and travel trade visitors. This year’s show will place a spotlight on cutting-edge technology and innovation, integrating the theme across all show verticals, planned activities and seminars. Set to be held on April 30 and May 1, CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa will bring together airports, airlines and aviation suppliers in a format that offers formal one-to-one pre-arranged meetings, engaging industry seminars as well as social opportunities to cement relationships with existing clients and engage with new ones. Also new for 2019, ATM Holiday Shopper to be held on April 27, will showcase over 30 travel and hospitality exhibitors from regional and international destinations who will be offering the very best travel and tourism discounts and deals exclusively …

The number of Indian visitors travelling to the GCC over the coming five years will create an extra 10.8 million room nights, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2019 (ATM), which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28, 2019 to May 1, 2019. The latest research published by Colliers International predicts around nine million Indians will travel to the GCC by 2022 – 37 per cent of India’s total outbound market – with business, place of work and leisure underpinning this demand. Indian outbound will account for 22.5 million worldwide tourists in 2018, with reports from UNWTO estimating this figure will increase by 122 per cent to reach over 50 million by 2022. Adding to this, Indian tourists are among the world’s highest spenders per visit made abroad, with visitor spend expected to increase from US$23 billion in 2018 to US$45 billion by 2022. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “Despite recent weak rupee exchange rates, which have seen the rupee lose around 14 per cent of its value against the US dollar over the last 12 months, the Indian outbound market has continued to grow at an average annual growth rate of 10-12 per cent over the last seven years. The GCC has benefited from this trend with Indian travellers’ willingness and ability to spend on outbound travel supported by the country’s pace-setting 7 per cent GDP growth and a new generation of leisure attractions in the GCC as well as increased business opportunities and relaxed visa regulations for Indian nationals. We are witnessing this growth first hand with Indian visitors to ATM increasing 27 per cent YoY between 2017 and …

Cutting-edge technology and innovation will be adopted as the theme for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2019, to be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 28 to May 1, 2019. According to a latest research conducted by Colliers International, personalisation Artificial Intelligence (AI) could increase hotel revenues by over 10 per cent and reduce costs by more than 15 per cent – with hotel operators expecting technology such as voice and facial recognition, virtual reality and biometrics to be mainstream by 2025. The research also estimates that 73 per cent of manual activities in the hospitality industry have the technical potential for automation, with many global hotel operators including Marriott, Hilton, and Accor already investing in automating elements of their human resources. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “It is important to highlight that the GCC is one of the fastest-growing regional hospitality markets on a global scale and an innovative technology-reliant industry. Its impact on hotels and travel and tourism is multi-dimensional, ranging from voice and facial recognition, chatbots and beacon technology to virtual reality, blockchain and robot concierge. Throughout ATM 2019, the spotlight theme will be launched as a platform to create awareness and inspire the travel and hospitality industry about the next generation of technology, while bringing together senior travel executives to meet and conduct business with innovative tech providers. With technologies like AI and automation quickly maturing, the hospitality and travel and tourism industry must prepare for a wave of disruption in order to reap the overall benefits of these technologies.”

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development (SCTDA) has revealed at the Arabian Travel Market 2018 that Sharjah hotels recorded an occupancy growth rate of 70 per cent in 2017, indicating an exponentially rising number of regional and global travellers visiting the emirate. Commenting on the results, HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “Last year’s positive developments were the results of the initiatives to transform the emirate into one of the world’s leading family destinations in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and in support of Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, which seeks to attract over 10 million visitors to Sharjah shores by 2021. Our intensive tourism campaigns hit its targets in 2017, further boosting the local tourism sector and enhancing its reputation at the local, regional, and global levels.” He added, “Our strong performance last year helped catapult Sharjah into the ranks of the most innovative and competitive cities in the world. Our continuing achievements and successes are proof of the emirate’s capability to provide an exceptional travel experience as well as high potential to attract tourists from around the world. Furthermore, Sharjah is famous among travellers who want to explore ancient monuments, with visitors from Russia, China, and different parts of the globe descending on the emirate to experience its beauty and rich traditions. All of these are helping drive our economic, social, cultural, and environmental growth.”