Arabian Travel Market records 29pc YoY growth in attendees

KARACHI: The 30th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held in Dubai has witnessed a 29 percent year-on-year growth in attendees, establishing a new record for the show and demonstrating a rise in the travel and tourism sector of the Middle East.

The four-day expo, concluded last week, was held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre, and its strategic partners included Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the destination partner, Emirates as the official airline partner, IHG Hotels and Resorts as the official hotel partner and Al Rais Travel as the official DMC partner.

“The fact that we witnessed record attendance at ATM 2023 is extremely encouraging and a strong indication that the Middle East’s travel industry is once again in excellent shape,” Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said.

In line with this year’s theme ‘Working Towards Net Zero’, the organisers received over 40,000 attendees (5pc increase over 2019) and more than 2,100 exhibitors and representatives from over 150 countries gathered at Dubai World Trade Centre to explore how the industry could ensure sustainable travel for future generations, according to ATM’s press release.

Pakistan set a pavilion for a first in the expo and a defaulting Sri Lanka was also seen, with hopes to contribute in revamping its ailing economy through travel and tourism. DET stand at the expo was awarded ‘Best Stand for Doing Business’ by ATM. According to the department, over 122 public and private sector establishments held business meetings on the Dubai stand.

ATM’s sustainability theme also steered the conversation towards yet another event that Dubai will host later this year, COP28, the UN Climate Change conference, while stimulating further interest in Dubai’s multi-pronged blueprint for sustainable growth, aligned with goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33.

The increased participation at ATM 2023 follows a strong performance by Dubai’s tourism sector in in the first quarter of 2023 that witnessed 4.67 million international overnight visitors from January to March, compared to 3.97 million tourists during the same period in 2022, a 17 percent YoY growth and achieving 98 percent of pre-pandemic levels.

Dubai plans to double the economy and consolidate its position among top three global cities by the next decade. Saudi Arabia is also eyeing a tourism boost in the coming years. Speaking at the Future Hospitality Summit currently being held in Riyadh, Deputy Minister of Investment Attraction Mahmoud Abdulhadi said the Kingdom’s leadership was striving to present investors with the appropriate tools to boost funds into the sector, Arab News reported on Tuesday.

“Our role today in the concept of a public-private partnership is to make sure that we are working very closely with the private sector to create a sustainable investable tourism environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the minister said.