Arabian Travel Market ,Dubai to welcome exhibitors from 150 countries
TravelBizNews —-
Dubai : Middle East’s largest travel trade event will feature 2,600 exhibitors, 65 national pavilions, over 35 seminar and technology theatre sessions .
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017, the region’s leading travel industry showcase, opens its doors on April 24 for four days of business networking opportunities, insightful seminar sessions and top level ministerial discussions.
The Mart, to be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from 24-27 April, will attract 30 thousand visitors according to ATM secretariat.
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,’ he added.
Similarly , the UNWTO and ATM Ministerial Forum returns, uniting more than 20 ministers with industry leaders in the MENA region to consider methods of capitalising on tourism growth and building a sustainable ecosystem for the sector to unlock its potential within each country’s national agenda.
Other popular features include the Wellness and Spa Lounge , Travel Agent Academy, Buyers Club and the Bloggers Speed Networking events.
“On the stand at ATM this year we’ll also be highlighting several new initiatives of our own including Dubai Sustainable Tourism updates and our new industry training ‘Dubai Expert’ which Dubai College of Tourism will showcase – and much more,” said Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai’s Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism).
Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals.
ATM 2016 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5bn over the four days.
ATM is part of Reed Travel Exhibition’s World Travel Market events, which also includes WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
Inputs from ATM , April 22 , 2017
