Arabian Travel Market 2021 to Run Live Event in Dubai

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), has announced that the 2021 edition of its annual showcase will take place live at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) during May 16-19.

Now in its 27th year and working in collaboration with DWTC and Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, the theme of the show will be “A new dawn for travel and tourism” and the spotlight will be thrown onto the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds.

Supporting ATM’s theme, a recent Colliers report – MENA Hotel Forecasts, estimates that 2021 will be a year of recovery, based on the assumption that hotel performance across the region is already improving. Major destinations such as Dubai and Cairo are leading the way with estimated full year 2021 occupancy levels of 68 and 65 percent respectively.

They were closely followed by Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Muscat and Amman, with average occupancies of 58 percent, 56 percent, 51 percent, 48 percent, and 45 percent respectively. Overall, average year-on-year growth of the 20 destinations researched was 47 percent.

Health of travel and tourism is key to the region

Photo source: Dubai International Airport

Prior to the pandemic, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the Middle East’s GDP was predicted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), to reach US $133.6 billion by 2028.

According to Reed Travel Exhibitions, given subdued oil prices and a general economic slowdown due to Covid-19 restrictions, it is clear that the Middle East’s regional economy will be relying on travel and tourism to recover quickly, once a vaccine has been fully developed and rolled out.

Arabian Travel Market Exhibition Director ME Danielle Curtis said: “Last week, Pfizer released the first reading of its Phase-3 trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine, announcing that it was more than 90 percent effective in preventing the coronavirus, based on interim data analysis”.

If approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Pfizer estimates it can roll out 50 million doses this year and up to 1.3 billion in 2021.

“So, we are confident that by May next year, we will be on the threshold of a new dawn for our industry,” Curtis said.

Arabian Travel Week

ATM 2021 will also play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week and for the first time, a new hybrid format will mean a virtual ATM running a week later to complement and reach a wider audience than ever before.

Other notable features of Arabian Travel Week will include the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) 2021, Travel Forward – the travel technology vertical, Buyers Forums dedicated to key source, a virtual digital influencers’ speed networking session, a hotel summit and a responsible tourism program.

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 Arabian Travel Market 2021 is the sister event of WTM London.