Calling all tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs! Pitch for up to $500,000 of investment at the first ever ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition

Up to fifteen start-ups from across the tourism and hospitality sector will be given the opportunity to pitch for up to half a million dollar of funding, thanks to a brand-new competition that will take place at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME – Arabian Travel Market, which will be held at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 9-12 May 2022, said: “The ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition offers an incredible opportunity for entrepreneurs from across the industry to pitch their business plans in front of our expert judges, not to mention a global audience of industry professionals and investors.

“In addition to pitching for up to $500,000 of investment at ATM 2022, the winning start-up will be given the chance to compete for a further $500,000 of funding on Tim Draper’s hugely popular television show, Meet the Drapers.”

The inaugural ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition, which will take place on the ATM Travel Tech Stage on Tuesday 10 May 2022, will see 15 start-ups go head-to-head. Spanning the segments of travel and transportation, hospitality tech, and experiences and attractions, each pitch will last for five minutes and will be followed by a five-minute Q&A session with ATM’s panel of industry judges.

The overall winner will receive a minimum of $30,000 up to a maximum of $500,000 investment, a DASC Certificate and the chance to appear on Tim Draper’s TV show, Meet the Drapers, where they compete for another $500,000 while gaining access to a crowdfunding network of 12 million viewers. A further two runners up will receive the DASC Certificate only.

“The aim of the ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition is to help intensify the race to a sustainable future for travel and tourism,” said Curtis. “In conjunction with AladdinB2B and Draper Associates, we will showcase technologies and innovations from the brightest minds in travel, transportation, hospitality, experiences and attractions.”

In addition to a place in the competition, each finalist will have the opportunity to invest in a pod located in ATM 2022’s start-up area; access to a booking and matchmaking platform powered by AladdinB2B and Draper VC, which can be used to arrange meetings with prospective investors; and global exposure through ATM Travel Tech’s various marketing platforms.

The competition’s panel of expert judges will also be on hand share their extensive start-up experience, offering tips on the most effective fundraising methods, the biggest challenges faced by new ventures, and the best channels to reach investors.

“Any start-ups that are interested in taking part can visit the ATM Travel Tech page to find out more about this exciting competition,” Curtis added.

Now in its 29th year and working in collaboration with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) and Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) – formerly the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) – ATM show highlights in 2022 will include, among others, destination summits focused on the key source markets of Saudi Arabia and India.

Previously called Travel Forward, the revamped and rebranded ATM Travel Tech event will take place on the ATM Travel Tech Stage, hosting seminars, debates and presentations as well as the inaugural ATM Draper-Aladdin Start-up Competition.

The dedicated ARIVALDubai@ATM forum, meanwhile, will cover current and future trends for tour operators and attractions, focusing on growing business through marketing, technology, distribution, thought leadership and executive-level connections.

ATM will once again play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, a festival of events dedicated to enabling travel professionals from all over the world to collaborate and shape the recovery of the Middle East travel industry through exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches and networking events.

The UAE remains one of the most Covid-secure countries on the planet, with consistently low case rates and robust measures to ensure tourists' safety at every stage of their visit. Like its neighbouring emirates, Dubai is committed to maintaining the highest hygiene and safety standards. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has endorsed its pandemic management, awarding the city a 'Safe Travels' stamp.

In line with the UAE government’s forward-thinking transition to a four-and-a-half-day, Monday-to-Friday workweek, this year’s edition of ATM will commence on Monday 9 May.

For more news about ATM, please visit: https://hub.wtm.com/category/press/atm-press-releases/       

If you’d like to learn more about ATM, visit wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html.

About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)

Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 29th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2021 showcased over 1,300 exhibiting companies from 62 countries across nine halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, with attendees from more than 110 countries over the four days. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai

Next in-person event: Monday 9 to Thursday 12 May 2022, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html

Next virtual event: Tuesday 17 to Wednesday 18 May 2022

About Arabian Travel Week

Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2022. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ATM Virtual, ILTM Arabia, ARIVAL Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, as well as Travel Tech. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country summits.

https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html     

About RX (Reed Exhibitions)

RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face-to-face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com

RELX About RELX

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*

*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors

About the Draper-Aladdin Startup Competition:

Powered by Draper.VC and AladdinB2B, the Draper-Aladdin Startup Competition (DASC) gathers innovative startups to compete for the Startup Hero title and up to half a million dollars in cash investment. Wait— that’s not all. The winner gets a shot at international publicity and crowdfunding, through the Meet the Drapers TV Show. More information here https://aladdinb2b.com/competition/

About Aladdin

AladdinB2B is a technology platform leading the digital transformation of trade events by linking suppliers and buyers internationally, at the click of a button. Structured B2B meetings lead to transactions. More information at aladdinb2b.com

About Meet the Drapers

Pitch to millions, including one of Silicon Valley’s top VC families, on Meet the Drapers; a TV show looking for the next generation of startup heroes. The Draper family: Tim Draper, his father Bill Draper, his sister Polly Draper and one guest VC. Millions of American and international viewers will watch on both cable and digital. The crazy part is, the viewers can also invest! The winner of DASC gets the chance to appear on Meet the Drapers and pitch internationally to millions of investors. More information here: https://www.meetthedrapers.com/

About World Travel Market

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents, generating more than $7.5 billion of industry deals. The events are:

WTM Virtual, is the WTM Portfolio virtual platform, created to offer global delegates the chance to arrange one-to-one virtual meetings, to do business, attend conference sessions and roundtables, take part in speed networking and more. WTM Virtual embrace the global leading travel shows in one platform.

WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating over £3.71 billion in travel industry contracts.

WTM Latin America takes place annually in São Paulo and attracts around 19,000 tourism professionals during a three-day event. The show offers qualified content, as well as networking and business opportunities. In its ninth edition – the first 100% virtual – WTM Latin America followed its focus on effective business generation and reached the milestone of 4,200 meetings held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors.

Next event: Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 April 2022 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil http://latinamerica.wtm.com/

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. More than 6,000 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.

Next event: Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 April 2022 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/