Reviving ME tourism
This year ATM’s theme of ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism’ has never been more relevant nor important, says Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market
Arabian Travel Market 2021 will be held from May 16-19 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), focusing on the recovery of Middle East tourism. “This year's theme of ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism' has never been more relevant nor important – this message of recovery will be integrated into all of the show verticals and planned activities. The week-long festival of events is dedicated to travel professionals from all over world, to collaborate and shape the recovery of the Middle East travel industry, through exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches and networking events,” says Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market.
Now in its 28th year and working in collaboration with DWTC and Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), ATM 2021 will play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week. “Essentially, Arabian Travel Week will provide a pivotal platform for the region's travel and tourism industry, whether participating in-person at the events or virtually, over the course of 10 days – it will put a spotlight on Dubai, the UAE, GCC and of course the wider MENA region's tourism sector,” shares Curtis.
“There will be a whole host of in-person seminars on ATM's show floor specifically designed to support, inspire and innovate all travel and tourism professionals, looking at the latest trends in technology, sustainability and profiling the next generation of global travellers,” said Curtis.
There will also be an array of high-profile keynote speakers and world-class technology experts lined up for the Travel Forward Theatre. Other notable features of Arabian Travel Week and in-person at ATM include ILTM Arabia 2021, buyer forums with networking dedicated to key source markets including Saudi Arabia, India and China, a hotel summit, the responsible tourism programme and the International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC) summit. To complement the fourday in-person show, for the first time, a new hybrid format will mean a virtual ATM running a week after to reach a wider audience than ever before. ATM Virtual, which made its debut last year, proved to be a resounding success, attracting 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries. “It is imperative that we include a virtual element to Arabian Travel Week because many industry professionals from around the world may not be able to attend the in-person event for 2021. Indeed, it would also be impossible for us, at this moment in time, to even begin to speculate on how effective the vaccine rollout will be and subsequently when governments around the world will start to withdraw their travel restrictions,” said Curtis.
ATM Virtual will feature comprehensive webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, virtual digital influencers' speed networking session, one-to-one meetings, destination briefings, as well as facilitating new connections and offering a wide range of online business opportunities.