Thursday, 9 September 2010
Middle East’s premier travel, tourism event opens today
Tuesday, 4 May 2010 at 09:27, Alrroya.com, Dubai
Amidst the backdrop of a credit crunch-hit global economy, the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) opens on Tuesday with over 2,100 exhibitors from 72 countries – the largest delegation it has managed to attract since the show was launched in 1993.
Organisers are hopeful that ATM could help boost a flagging global tourism industry, an initiative that is undoubtedly very timely considering that last month’s six-day shutdown of most European airspace, which caused thousands of flight cancellations, millions of stranded passengers and a whopping $1.7 billion (Dh6.2bn) in airline revenue losses, did enough harm to ensure the industry's recovery is still miles away.
Mark Walsh, group exhibition director of ATM organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions, said the ATM “serves as a barometer to the health of regional and international travel and tourism markets” and that the Middle East plays an “ever-important role as a catalyst for positive business potential.”
True enough, according to recent statistics by the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the Middle East aviation industry has managed to dodge the economic turbulence and post the highest passenger traffic growth of 25.9 per cent in March among all the regions worldwide.
An ATM statement released on Monday mentioned that the number of exhibitors from the Middle East has grown by 15 per cent to 960 from 830 in 2009. “Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE are all bringing increased tourism contingents for 2010. In the emirates alone, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah have all made significant space increases,” it said.
Walsh said the figures are proof of how the Middle East had handled its industry recovery efforts and investments, both on individual and government levels.
"To see such strong growth year-on-year from the Middle East clearly underlines how the region has weathered the economic storm. Much of this is down to determined marketing efforts from the region's tourism authorities, strong backing from government bodies, the Middle East's airline industry capitalisation of market share via fleet expansion and development of existing and new airlinks and its overarching belief in being successful," says Walsh.
"We continue to see additional space uptake from non-traditional markets, as well as newly-formed companies, which is a result of enhanced tourism initiatives being instigated both from the region and from international tourism bodies looking to tap into the burgeoning Middle East market," said Walsh.
Organisers said Europe boasts 18 new stand holders including Turkish Air, which has taken 105m² of space, and St Petersburg, which returns after a three year absence. France and Turkey are the biggest increasers of space, raising their offerings by 40m² and 50m² to 200 m² and 600 m² respectively. The development of key source markets in Europe by Middle East tourism bodies and vice versa has seen above-average exhibitor number rises from France, Germany, Russia, Spain and Turkey.
Asia has also seen an increase in first time exhibitors including representatives from Uttarakhand Province in India, Nepal and China Southern Airlines. Thailand, Malaysia and India continue to be the largest space contributors with 440 m², 402.5 m² and 400 m² respectively. The Philippines saw the area's greatest space increase, going from 60 m² in 2009 to 101.5 m² in 2010.
Africa, The Americas and Australasia return for 2010 with a similar space commitment as in 2009 with the Maldives, United States, Canada, Kenya and Tunisia all seeing positive growth in exhibitor numbers.
This year will see over 140 hosted buyers attend the show, all of which have significant purchasing power to make decisions on the spot. These cover a number of sectors such as leisure, golf tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions).
The 2010 seminar programme has also doubled in size due to high demand and this year will see the introduction of a stand-alone Debate Room, which allows experts from various fields to participate in debates and panel Q&A sessions. This will be complemented by the Single Seminar room, which will host an array of industry leaders to discuss a range of topics in-depth such as luxury tourism, hospitality, human resources, aviation and value travel.
In addition, a number of key industry reports - including Deloittes' 'Middle East and World Review', and Euromonitor's 'Future of Travel in the Middle East' - ensures that these free to attend seminars are not to be missed.
Another new addition for 2010 will be 'Zone 8', which provides a more relaxed area for informal networking. Providing increased opportunities to interact with various destinations first hand through a series of live shows, 'Zone 8' will also serve to showcase new destinations and products.
Organisers are hopeful that ATM could help boost a flagging global tourism industry, an initiative that is undoubtedly very timely considering that last month’s six-day shutdown of most European airspace, which caused thousands of flight cancellations, millions of stranded passengers and a whopping $1.7 billion (Dh6.2bn) in airline revenue losses, did enough harm to ensure the industry's recovery is still miles away.
Mark Walsh, group exhibition director of ATM organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions, said the ATM “serves as a barometer to the health of regional and international travel and tourism markets” and that the Middle East plays an “ever-important role as a catalyst for positive business potential.”
True enough, according to recent statistics by the International Air Transport Association (Iata), the Middle East aviation industry has managed to dodge the economic turbulence and post the highest passenger traffic growth of 25.9 per cent in March among all the regions worldwide.
An ATM statement released on Monday mentioned that the number of exhibitors from the Middle East has grown by 15 per cent to 960 from 830 in 2009. “Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE are all bringing increased tourism contingents for 2010. In the emirates alone, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah have all made significant space increases,” it said.
Walsh said the figures are proof of how the Middle East had handled its industry recovery efforts and investments, both on individual and government levels.
"To see such strong growth year-on-year from the Middle East clearly underlines how the region has weathered the economic storm. Much of this is down to determined marketing efforts from the region's tourism authorities, strong backing from government bodies, the Middle East's airline industry capitalisation of market share via fleet expansion and development of existing and new airlinks and its overarching belief in being successful," says Walsh.
Emerging markets make their presence felt
ATM organisers said this year’s show has seen a steady space uptake by nearly 60 national tourist bodies representing six continents, including new-to-market showings from fiji, as well as representation from the private sector in Nigeria, Monaco, Swaziland, Ukraine, Nepal, Malta, Libya, Republic of Korea and Iraq."We continue to see additional space uptake from non-traditional markets, as well as newly-formed companies, which is a result of enhanced tourism initiatives being instigated both from the region and from international tourism bodies looking to tap into the burgeoning Middle East market," said Walsh.
Organisers said Europe boasts 18 new stand holders including Turkish Air, which has taken 105m² of space, and St Petersburg, which returns after a three year absence. France and Turkey are the biggest increasers of space, raising their offerings by 40m² and 50m² to 200 m² and 600 m² respectively. The development of key source markets in Europe by Middle East tourism bodies and vice versa has seen above-average exhibitor number rises from France, Germany, Russia, Spain and Turkey.
Asia has also seen an increase in first time exhibitors including representatives from Uttarakhand Province in India, Nepal and China Southern Airlines. Thailand, Malaysia and India continue to be the largest space contributors with 440 m², 402.5 m² and 400 m² respectively. The Philippines saw the area's greatest space increase, going from 60 m² in 2009 to 101.5 m² in 2010.
Africa, The Americas and Australasia return for 2010 with a similar space commitment as in 2009 with the Maldives, United States, Canada, Kenya and Tunisia all seeing positive growth in exhibitor numbers.
Value-added features on-site
Reed Travel Exhibitions has also introduced new initiatives this year in an attempt to enhance ATM’s knowledge delivery offering and business development capabilities.This year will see over 140 hosted buyers attend the show, all of which have significant purchasing power to make decisions on the spot. These cover a number of sectors such as leisure, golf tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions).
The 2010 seminar programme has also doubled in size due to high demand and this year will see the introduction of a stand-alone Debate Room, which allows experts from various fields to participate in debates and panel Q&A sessions. This will be complemented by the Single Seminar room, which will host an array of industry leaders to discuss a range of topics in-depth such as luxury tourism, hospitality, human resources, aviation and value travel.
In addition, a number of key industry reports - including Deloittes' 'Middle East and World Review', and Euromonitor's 'Future of Travel in the Middle East' - ensures that these free to attend seminars are not to be missed.
Another new addition for 2010 will be 'Zone 8', which provides a more relaxed area for informal networking. Providing increased opportunities to interact with various destinations first hand through a series of live shows, 'Zone 8' will also serve to showcase new destinations and products.
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