Reed Exhibitions, organiser of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) showcase in Dubai, has announced the return of Arabian Travel Week (ATW) between 16-26 May 2021.
“This 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,” Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market.
“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,” she added. Now in its 28th year and working in collaboration with Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), ATM 2021 will play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week.
“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, providing industry-leading insights and discussing the latest technologies and trends that will shape the future of travel.
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.
Ibrahim Ayoub, Group CEO, ITIC & Invest Tourism Ltd said, “We are delighted to host in partnership with ATM, our ITIC Middle East Tourism Investment Summits, in-person on Wednesday, 19th May and followed by our virtual summit, a week later on Thursday, 27th May. We will bring together hospitality, tourism and financial services leaders to discuss how the Middle East’s travel and tourism industry can position their businesses to be ready for the post COVID-19 recovery, through instituting and making strategic investments to rebuild the sector.”
“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,” added Curtis.
To complement the four-day 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. A highlight on Arabian Travel Week’s agenda and part of ATM Virtual is Arival Dubai @ ATM. This event will feature a series of sessions covering current and future trends for operators of tours and attractions. Douglas Quinby, CEO of Arival said, “Arabian Travel Market has long been the event that gathers the global travel community around the Middle East, and its role in the revival of our industry is more important than ever. We are partnering with ATM to create a special virtual forum that assembles leading voices from tours and attractions, as well as technology innovators, from across the region to help our industry chart a path of resilience and resurgence in 2021 and beyond.”
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s premier business travel and meetings trade organisation, will also be participating at ATM Virtual for the first time. The GBTA will deliver the latest business travel content, research and education to drive the post-pandemic recovery and support growth in business travel.
The show will strictly adhere to all DWTC’s stringent health and safety guidelines and will set out to provide a touchless and seamless experience. The team at DWTC are working hard to ensure that all events run safely and have implemented a range of measures including an enhanced cleaning regime, improved air circulation, multiple hand sanitiser stations and temperature checks.
