Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed opens Arabian Travel Market 2024

Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024, the leading global travel and tourism event being held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 6-9 May.

The record-breaking edition will feature 2,300 exhibitors from 165 countries, with around 41,000 visitors expected to attend the event.

This year’s edition of ATM will mark the event’s largest to date. Having launched in 1994 with 300 exhibitors and 7,000 trade visitors, ATM has now established itself as a globally renowned event integrating all travel sectors and verticals, from MICE to leisure and luxury hospitality, to corporate travel. Exhibitor participation has increased by 26% this year, with growth recorded across all event verticals.

During the opening, Sheikh Ahmed said that the massive interest generated amongst ATM 2024 attendees reaffirms Dubai’s standing as a major destination for tourism and travel in the region, highlighting its role in shaping the future of the industry by bringing together leaders of allied sectors from around the world.

Sheikh Ahmed later toured various pavilions at the exhibition. He was accompanied by Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy; Hilal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism; Danielle Curtis, Director of the Arabian Travel Market in the Middle East, and several top officials and leaders representing the travel and tourism industry at the regional and global levels.

ATM 2024 will focus on the theme, “Empowering Innovation: Transforming Travel Through Entrepreneurship”, spotlighting visionary entrepreneurs in aviation, hotels, hospitality, and public attractions, and underscoring their transformative role in the future of the sector.

A four-day conference agenda will feature 200 speakers across more than 50 sessions on two main stages - the Global Stage and the new Future Stage. The Global Stage will host daily summits exploring entrepreneurship, developing markets, sustainability, and luxury, while the Future Stage will be the home of all innovation-related content, covering topics such as AI, NextGen destinations, travel technology, and future trend forecasts.

The opening day of ATM 2024 features 12 sessions across the Global and Future stages. Highlights of the day include the Global Stage Welcome: The Gateway to Global Insights keynote speech from Issam Abdulrahim Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, and the Ministerial Debate: Streamlining Tourism within the GCC. The Market Insights Summit will also mark four days of focused deliberations at ATM, with entrepreneurship, luxury and sustainability rounding out ATM’s summit programme this week.

Looking ahead to Day Two, the most impactful trends in travel technology will be discussed at the Beyond the Hype: Demystifying 2024 Travel Tech Trends session on the Future Stage. The Global Stage will, in the meantime, gather aviation experts from IATA, Riyadh Air, AviationXLab and Cirium to explore How Technology is Disrupting Aviation followed by a session on Navigating the Future of Air Travel with Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.

Travel Tech, the travel technology exhibition at ATM will continue through 7th May, showcasing the innovative technologies driving the travel and hospitality sector and the Entrepreneurship Summit on May 7 will delve into the topic of Nurturing Travel and Tourism Entrepreneurship to Drive Economic Growth, along with exploring how Global Disruptions are Catalysts for Innovation.

ATM 2024 is part of Arabian Travel Week, a ten-day-long festival of travel and tourism events that take place in Dubai. In addition to ATM, other events that are part of Arabian Travel Week are the ATM Start-up competition, ATM Travel Tech, GBTA Business Travel Forums and Buyer Networking.

ATM 2024 is being held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre and its strategic partners include Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner, and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.

Meanwhile, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) announced that GCC travellers spent 1,297,256 room nights in Germany during 2023, a 15 percent increase over the 1,128,341 overnight stays recorded in 2022.

The announcement was made while addressing Middle East travel professionals during a press conference, which was held on the opening day of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2024.

Yamina Sofo, Director at the German National Tourist GCC Office (GNTO GCC), an affiliate of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB), commented, “During 2023, we witnessed a considerable increase of 168,915 overnight stays, compared with the previous year. The increase in overnight stays in 2023 underscores Germany’s enduring appeal among GCC travellers, which is a testament to the continuous efforts of GNTO in its ongoing marketing campaigns across both B2B and B2C channels.”