The 2022 edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) will focus on the future of international travel and tourism and the likely challenges and the benefits of a resilient industry that is still coming to terms with the new normal.
“Covid-19 has dominated our lives since March 2020 and continues to do so in many parts of the world. However, although international travel and tourism has learnt from past experiences and adapted in some cases almost seamlessly, we now have an ideal opportunity to look ahead to the future of our industry,” said Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, ATM.
“Dwelling too much on the pre-Covid past would not necessarily be productive, especially because so many industry parameters and social attitudes have since been completely reset,” said Curtis.
“Undoubtedly innovation through IoT, AI, AR, VR and improved connectivity overall, will change the face of our industry dramatically, however, there are other challenges, that we should address together and share industry best practice.
“These issues include climate change and broader social challenges, as well as stakeholder attitudes towards equity in health, education and economic opportunity, particularly in the communities that we operate in,” added Curtis.
Now in its 29th year and working in collaboration with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), the event, will take place live and in-person at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from May 8 to 11, 2022. In similar fashion to the 2021 format, a virtual edition will again be held the following week on May 17 and 18, said a statement.
Show highlights in 2022 will include, among others, destination summits focused on key source markets Saudi Arabia, Russia, China and India; Travel Forward, the leading global event for travel technology which puts a spotlight on the latest, next generation technology for travel and hospitality; ATM buyer forums and speed networking events, as well as Arival Dubai @ ATM – a dedicated in-destination forum.
ATM 2022 will also host dedicated conference summits on the Global Stage, covering aviation, hotels, sports tourism, retail tourism and a special hospitality investment seminar. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organisation, will once again be participating at ATM. The GBTA will deliver the latest business travel content, research and education to drive the recovery and support growth in business travel.
ATM will play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, a festival of events 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, said the statement.
Given the global travel and social restrictions, the ATM 2021 live, and in-person event was well received, with over 21,600 attendees from 110 different countries. During the virtual event, 30,790 profiles were registered on the ATM Virtual platform, almost 20,000 face-to-face virtual meetings took place and there were over 6,600 conference views.
Putting those figures into context, ATM which is often considered by industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector, welcomed almost 40,000 people to its 2019 event with representation from 150 countries.
