ABU DHABI: A local newspaper has said that one of the Middle East’s annual big ticket industry events, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is taking place this week in Dubai, while the UAE continues to attract visitors from around the world.
Just this year, Dubai was ranked the world’s No.1 city destination in the Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023 by Euromonitor International.
In its editorial on Monday, The National said that this comes against a backdrop of the world recovering from COVID-19, high inflation rates affecting travel, and turbulence in the region.
Gathering the industry’s stakeholders to work through some of its challenges, however, is part of what ATM is about. This year, the number of exhibitors is up to 2,300, and they will attend a range of panel discussions about subjects such as strengthening the sector’s resilience, future proofing it from global economic disruptions and reinforcing security.
By the time the event concludes, participants will have heard from 200 speakers, on subjects such
as innovation and entrepreneurship as this year’s theme is ’empowering innovation: transforming travel through entrepreneurship”, and approximately 41,000 people from 165 countries would have attended some of these sessions, concluded significant deals and drawn up business plans for the next year.
ATM provides an important opportunity for destinations to update the world on their latest touristic developments, whether it’s Abu Dhabi showcasing the variety of experiences the emirate has to offer; Sharjah putting forwards its innovation projects; Saudi Arabia attracting visitors to its lesser known leisure attractions or Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism presenting the best of the country’s tourist sites.
The editorial added, “While the UAE and the GCC are desirable destinations on their own, with much to offer in terms of retail, heritage and hospitality, they become all the more of a draw to travellers in the current context as they remain untouched by fears of war. For outbound travellers, from larg
e and growing markets such as China and India, the UAE and GCC hold appeal as repeat destinations, somewhere not too far, with all the comforts, and an easily-endured flight time.’
Source: Emirates News Agency