ATM 2021: Return of in-person show set to buoy Middle East tourism
Reed Exhibitions has announced the return of Arabian Travel Week (ATW), with the event set to take place between May 16th-26th.
“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 Middle East, 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 ten days.”
Now in its 28th year and working in collaboration with Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM), ATM 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.
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.
