ATM 2019’s Global Stage gears up for in-depth industry discussions on key travel and tourism trends

• Saudi Arabia’s hospitality market, hotel industry and halal tourism among key topics to be discussed on ATM Global Stage
• Several high-profile speakers confirmed include Emirates Airline’s Sir Tim Clark and Air Arabia’s Adel Ali

Saudi Arabia’s growing tourism sector will be one of over 40 key travel and tourism trends under the spotlight on Arabian Travel Market’s Global Stage - as more than 100 experts from across the spectrum of global hospitality gear up for three more days of interactive discussions, keynotes and industry briefings.

The Kingdom will see a vast expansion of its hotel and resort inventory during 2019, with approximately 9,000 keys of three- to five-star international supply projected to enter the market despite major cities such as Riyadh and Jeddah experiencing an overall drop in ADR during 2018.  

While this new supply will place additional competitive pressure on hotels’ performance across the country, the predicted growth in airport passenger numbers across Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Al Khobar is expected to boost occupancy levels throughout 2019.

Discussing Saudi Arabia’s tourism potential, a seminar titled ‘Why Tourism is Saudi’s New ‘White Oil’ will take place on ATM 2019’s Global Stage from 14:50 to 16:00 tomorrow (Monday, 29 April).

With the overall number of annual tourist trips expected to increase to 93.8 million by 2023, according to Colliers International, panellists will discuss the opportunities related to these unprecedented growth projections, as well as the tourism sector’s potential to support Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification efforts.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “All available metrics point to incredible potential within Saudi Arabia’s tourism sector. Increases in air passenger numbers are predicted across the board in 2019, and the kingdom’s hospitality sector is investing in its future with significant boosts to capacity.

“New revenue channels such as travel and tourism have a crucial role to play in achieving the goals set out in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which is why it is so important for our industry to explore how we can work together to catalyse further development.”

Kicking off day two will be a session titled ‘The Big Picture – Who will sell travel best in the future?’. With the global travel landscape rapidly evolving and the lines between traditional and non-traditional travel retailers blurring, this session will discuss what the future holds for an industry where every major tech firm, social media channel and online retailer is fighting to sell travel and what it means for traditional providers as we look ahead to the next decade.

Debuting on the Global Stage this year will be the ATM Hotel Industry Summit which takes place from 14:40 to 17:00 on Tuesday 30^th April. Consisting of four separate panel discussions, the summit will shed light on infrastructure developments, technologies and innovative concepts with the potential to increase efficiency and improve guest experience within the hotel segment.

As a younger generation of clientele with different preferences and budgetary requirements comes to the fore, panellists will explore up-and-coming hospitality hotspots in the Middle East, emerging trends such as mid-market resorts and lifestyle hotels, and an anticipated return to direct bookings.

Meanwhile, the Global Halal Tourism Summit will return for its third edition on Tuesday 30^th April from 11:00 to 13:00. The summit will explore the top trends within the Halal tourism sector as well as the growing role of technology in the Muslim space, including the digitalisation of the Umrah. 

Curtis said: “This year’s edition of Arabian Travel Market will include a comprehensive programme of in-depth industry discussions, with topics ranging from emerging market segments to efficiency-boosting innovations.

“Not only will we be discussing new subjects such as Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism sector, but we will also be revisiting previous focuses such as halal tourism. The inaugural ATM Hotel Industry Summit, meanwhile, will address everything from hotel infrastructure developments and investment opportunities to the digital innovations that are helping to transform guest accommodation in the Middle East.”

This year, the ATM Global stage will also host several high-profile speakers from the region’s aviation industry. From 12:10 to 13:10 on Monday, 29 April, Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates, will offer insights into the Dubai-headquartered carrier’s growth strategy. Meanwhile, from 13:20 to 14:20 on Tuesday, 30 April, Adel Ali, Group CEO of Air Arabia, will reflect on 15 years of success within the Gulf’s low-cost carrier segment.

In the Travel Tech Theatre, which is sponsored by Sabre Corporation this year – seminar sessions will explore how to positively change the perception of destinations using the power of social media as well as discussing how immersive technology will transform the visitor experience at mega events such as the upcoming Expo 2020.

And, in the Inspiration Theatres, expert panels will discuss how the travel and tourism industry can best reduce carbon emissions as well as the evolution of bespoke luxury travel and the opportunities that both medical and wellness tourism present today.

Other popular features still to come include the Digital Influencers’ Speed Networking, Best Stand Awards, Career in Travel and the Travel Agents’ Academy.

For full details of the ATM 2019 event programme, visit: https://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com/en/events/Events-programme.

For more information about ATM 2019, visit: https://arabiantravelmarket.wtm.com.

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 25^th 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 April to Wednesday, 1 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 April to Wednesday 1 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 more 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 and Africa event will be the brand’s 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 industries, which are the backbone and catalyst of 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 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 events 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 USD 7 billion of industry deals. These events include:

WTM London, a 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 GBP 3.4 billion of travel industry contracts. The next edition will take place from 4-6 November, 2019. For more information, visit: http://london.wtm.com/.

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

WTM Latin America, an exhibition that attracts about 9,000 senior executives and generates about USD 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. The next edition will take place in 2020. For more information, visit: http://latinamerica.wtm.com/.

WTM Africa, which was 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. The next event will take place in 2020. For more information, visit: http://africa.wtm.com/.