Tag Archives: Arabian Travel Market

Now in its 24th year, the 2017 edition of Arabian Travel Market will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 24-27. The exhibition will feature 2,600 exhibitors, 65 national pavilions, over 35 seminar and technology theatre sessions and anticipates 30,000 trade visitors getting together for four days of business networking opportunities, insightful seminar sessions and top level ministerial discussions. For the second successive year, organisers have added an extra hall, to accommodate extra demand, with over 150 countries represented, 65 national pavilions, and more than 100 new exhibitors set to make their ATM debut. Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said: “It is clear that the Expo 2020 project is driving growth throughout Dubai, as it aims to complete 160,000 hotel rooms in time to welcome an additional five million visitors over the course of the six-month event. However, the UAE and the GCC countries as a whole are looking towards tourism as a way of diversifying their economies away from their reliance on hydrocarbon receipts. 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 sheer Arabic opulence – and can be the basis for a holistic travel experience, by connecting with a place rather than just making a visit. This growing trend is now on the radar of the region’s tourism chiefs as destinations face increased competition for their share of the more traditional travel segments. And it is very much on the radar of Arabia Travel Market 2017, which has adopted experiential travel as the main theme of this year’s event, integrating …

The Travel Agents’ Academy will return to Arabian Travel Market in 2017 with two half-day sessions on Thursday 27 April, at Dubai World Trade Centre. Beginning at 10am in Hall 1, scheduled topics for the free-to-attend 2017 programme include itinerary planning, sales training and destination briefings, with a networking break, refreshments and a course completion certificate for all delegates. Tackling one of the most pressing issues for travel agents, the first session will see Rohit Bassi, Managing Director of In Learning, return to ATM following an incredibly popular address at ATM 2016. This year, Bassi will discuss “Soul of Sales – The Nine Universal Principles” which includes how to teach travel agents how to build credibility and connection with clients; how to identify and offer solutions to clients; negotiation and management techniques; and to manage the transformation from sale to client relationship. Bassi, who established In Learning in 2011, is renowned for teaching a range of key business skills and is the only licensed trainer for Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway® in the UAE, which builds on the teachings of the self-development book written by Susan Jeffers.  He has previously consulted for Nielsen, Al Ghurair Iron & Steel, Emirates NBD, Bayt.com, DFS Logistics, Alshaya, Oracle, EMC, Emaar Hospitality, Harley-Davidson, HSBC and ADBC. Following on will be Sundar Vasudayen, Principle Consultant at TRS Consulting will share itinerary planning tips for well-travelled clients looking for something unique.   Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said: “The Travel Agents’ Academy at this year’s Arabian Travel Market is being held at a timely juncture in the role of travel agents. Travel trends analyst Skift noted how, a few years back, the digital …

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organisers of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) showcase in Dubai, from 24-27 April 2017, has announced that it will host the first ATM Global Halal Tourism Summit as part of its line-up of special focus events. The one-day summit, scheduled to take place on Wednesday April 26, 2017, on the Global Stage, will feature three interactive seminar sessions covering the big picture, halal destination strategies and how to sell halal travel, led by leading Muslim travel industry experts including Faeez Fadhlillah, Co-founder & CEO, Salam Standard & Tripfez; Nabeel Shariff, Founder and Director of Serendipity Tailormade and Luxury Halal Travel. A 2014 report by Thomson Reuters valued the global halal food and lifestyle sector at US$1.8 trillion and this is expected to reach US$2.6 trillion by 2020; That figure was supported by research commissioned by the Government of Dubai, and produced by Thomson Reuters in partnership with DinarStandard, which found that halal tourism represents 11.6% of global tourism expenditure, estimating the sector would be worth US$238 billion by 2019.

Experiential travel encompassing the adventure, culture, heritage, wellness & spa and cruise tourism segments, which are currently trending globally, will be adopted as the official show theme, for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017, taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 24-27 April. ATM 2017 will integrate the experiential theme across all of the show verticals and activities, including focused seminars and roundtable events, featuring dedicated exhibitor participation. Industry professionals throughout the Middle East region are keen to look for new and niche markets, especially in the short to mid-term as Dubai in particular, continues to grow its hotel supply unabated. According to STR, at the end of August 2016, Dubai had grown its room stock to 85,500 across 403 hotels, which is putting added downward pressure on rates as hotels compete for occupancy, with little respite ahead as room supply is set to rise further to between 140,000 and 160,000 rooms by 2020.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has launched its new tourism identity under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours’, a step to further develop the tourism sector as a main contributor to the national economy. The new identity was unveiled by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to the regional market at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held in Dubai, United Arab of Emirates. The Kingdom plans to revamp its access points for foreign visitors including the modernisation program for the Bahrain International Airport which will result in increasing the capacity to 14 million visitors annually and port facilities for yachts that arrive in Bahrain from other countries. The tourism sector’s direct contribution to the GDP in the Kingdom of Bahrain is around $700 million – around 3.6 per cent – according to the statistics published for the year 2015, an increase of up to 9 per cent when compared to 2014. It is also expected that the tourism sector revenues will increase to $1 billion by 2020. The industry currently provides more than 31.5 thousand jobs, accounting for 4 per cent of the total workforce in Bahrain. The total investment in the travel and tourism sector in the Kingdom last year amounted to 280 million.

The recently concluded Arabian Travel Market (ATM) from April 25-28, 2016, at the Dubai World Trade Center declared an increase of 7 per cent in terms of visitor numbers and 9 per cent increase from 2015 in the number of Buyer’s Club members with over 28,000 trade visitors which included VIPs, sponsors and speakers attending the show released by Reed Travel Exhibitions. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, ATM has grown to become the largest event of its kind in the region and one of the biggest in the world. The 2016 edition had an additional hall, with 423 main stand holders representing 86 countries, 64 country pavilions and over 100 new exhibitors making their debut. Main focus was the mid-market segment targeted at various new markets with wellness and responsible tourism playing a key role as well. One of the most interesting seminars was the discussion on UAE being the global tourism hub.

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman, has revealed that up to $US 35 billion will be invested in the tourism industry of the Sultanate over the 25 years as officials conclude a hugely successful presence at this year’s Arabian Travel Market. Up to 80 per cent of that investment will come from the private sector as the country plans to double the number of international visitors Oman attracts to five million as part of its new national 2040 Tourism Strategy. Tourism officials, led by Director General of Tourism Promotion Salim Al Mamari, conducted a record number of business and trade meetings during the ATM in Dubai as interest in the country as one of the world’s fastest growing and unique destinations rapidly grows. Al Mamari said: “We have enjoyed a hugely successful Arabian Travel Market and have found unprecedented levels of interest from the tourism industry in seeking new partnerships and initiatives with the Ministry.”