Arabian Travel Market to Host Inaugural Hotel Industry Summit

• UAE & KSA account for 94% of new hotel supply
• Inaugural Hotel Industry Summit will shine spotlight on infrastructure developments, investment opportunities and digital innovations
• UAE hotel supply forecast to grow at CAGR of 6% to 183,718 hotel rooms between 2017 and 2022

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) showcase in Dubai, which will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 April – 1 May 2019, has announced that it will host the first ATM Hotel Industry Summit as part of its line-up of special events.

The inaugural summit, scheduled to take place on Tuesday 30^th April on the Global Stage, will see various panels of experts discuss the latest hotel infrastructure developments, investment opportunities and digital innovations which are shaping the region’s ever-changing industry.

The UAE’s hospitality market is expected to be worth $7.6 billion annually by 2022, growing at a five-year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.5% between 2017 and 2022, driven by Dubai’s Expo 2020, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and various other government initiatives to boost travel and tourism across the region.

Over the same period, hotel supply is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6% to 183,718 keys, according to research published in a report by Alpen Capital.

In addition to this, STR data shows that the GCC is expecting an additional 58,761 hotel rooms to enter the market in 2019. The leading contributors are the UAE with 31,517 rooms (53%) in the pipeline; Saudi Arabia with 24,170 (41%); and Oman with 2,984 (5%).

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “It is important to highlight that the GCC is one of the fastest growing regional hospitality markets on a global scale, with the UAE leading the way as it gears up for Expo 2020 which is now less than two years away.

“Dubai’s hotel supply alone is expected to reach 132,000 in 2019, with the emirate aiming to complete 160,000 hotel rooms by October 2020 – in time to welcome 25 million visitors for Expo 2020.”

The summit will get underway with a session on ‘Regional Development and Investment Hotspots’, highlighting buoyant destinations in the Middle East and explaining the factors behind their underlying growth. This market intelligence will be essential for hotel professionals, management companies, owners and investors – particularly with major infrastructure projects stacking up across the Gulf.

The second session of the day will discuss ‘The New Normal – Digital Transformation Secrets Revealed’, in which panelists will show how hotel groups can boost revenues and guest personalisation by implementing the latest technological tools.

Digital now dominates all facets of modern life including hospitality, from reservations, pre-arrival messages and mobile check-in, to mobile keys, in-room preferences and experiences, upgrades and check-outs.

According to research conducted by Colliers International, personalisation through Artificial Intelligence (AI) could increase hotel revenues by over 10 percent and reduce costs by more than 15 percent – with hotel operators expecting technology such as voice and facial recognition, virtual reality and biometrics to be mainstream by 2025.

“Hoteliers have been cautious of technology taking away the human touch from the guest service and overall experience. However, by giving guests the autonomy to choose at each touch point during their hotel stay, hoteliers can learn the right balance between staff interaction and AI-powered, automated customer service,” Curtis said.

Rounding off the first summit will be a discussion on ‘New Hospitality Concepts Making Waves in the Middle East’, as operators target a wider range of visitors and aim to meet the needs of modern travellers, many of whom are yearning for more authentic experiences.

Curtis added: “Highlighting the opportunities that will drive the next era of hospitality in the region, the inaugural ATM Hotel Industry Summit is an exciting addition to what is now a comprehensive 360 industry showcase.

“As well as providing intelligence, insight and advice to attendees, the summit will also help focus minds on the upcoming infrastructure developments, investment opportunities and digital innovations that will continue to shape the industry over the next decade. 

ATM – considered by industry professionals as a barometer for the Middle East and North Africa tourism sector, welcomed over 39,000 people to its 2018 event, showcasing the largest exhibition in the history of the show, with hotels comprising 20% of the floor area.

ATM 2019 will build on the success of this year’s edition with a host of seminar sessions discussing the ongoing unprecedented digital disruption, and the emergence of innovative technologies that will fundamentally alter the way in which the hospitality industry operates in the region.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2018 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, with representation from 141 countries over the four days. The 25th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre.  Arabian Travel Market 2019 will take place in Dubai from Sunday, 28^th April to Wednesday, 1^st May 2019. To find out more, please visit: www.arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

About Arabian Travel Week

Arabian Travel Week is an umbrella brand comprising four co-located shows including Arabian Travel Market and ILTM Arabia as well as CONNECT Middle East, India and Africa – a new route development forum launching this year and ATM’s first ever consumer event – ATM Holiday Shopper. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector – under one roof over the course of one week – the inaugural Arabian Travel Week will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from Saturday 27^th April – Wednesday 1^st May 2019. For more information visit: arabiantravelweek.com

About CONNECT

CONNECT Route Development Forum delivers a total networking experience, bringing together airports, airlines and aviation suppliers in a format that offers formal one-to-one pre-arranged meetings, engaging industry seminars together with social opportunities to cement relationships with existing clients and engage with new ones. Created and organised by The Airport Agency-France, CONNECT is now in its 16^th year and set to attract over 650 participants in June 2019 at its flagship event taking place in Cagliari, Sardinia. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com

The inaugural CONNECT Middle East, India & Africa event will be the first and only networking forum in the Middle East. Ideally located in Dubai to address the booming aviation market of the Middle East, it will bring together the aviation and the tourism industry which are the backbone and catalyst to economic development. For more information, visit: www.connect-aviation.com/2019-meia/

About ATM Holiday Shopper

ATM Holiday Shopper is the brand-new travel event for consumers offering the very best travel and tourism discounts and deals plus the chance to learn about a range of emerging and unexplored destinations and activities from destinations around the world.  The inaugural event will take place in Hall 1 of the Dubai World Trade Centre on Saturday, 27^th April 2019 from 12:00 – 20:00. For more information, visit: www.atmholidayshopper.com

About ILTM Arabia

International Luxury Travel Market Arabia is an exclusive event for those looking to attract HNW travellers from the Middle East to their destination. Returning for its third year, ILTM will allow international luxury suppliers and key luxury buyers to connect via one-to-one pre-scheduled appointments and networking opportunities. ILTM will take place on Sunday 28^th April and Monday 29^th April 2019. For more information, visit: www.iltm.com/arabia/

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than seven million participants.

About Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises six leading B2B events across four continents, generating more than $7 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. About 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating about £3.4 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 4-6 November 2019 – London.

Travel Forward is a new travel technology event co-located with WTM London 2018 and part of the WTM portfolio of events. The inaugural Travel Forward conference, exhibition and buyer programme will take place on 4–6 November 2019 at ExCeL London, showcasing next-generation technology for travel and hospitality. http://travelforward.wtm.com/.

WTM Latin America attracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about US$374 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 8,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 2-4 April 2019 – Sao Paulo.

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/.

Next event: 10-12 April 2019 – Cape Town.