Virtual Arabian Travel Market 2021 Begins Tomorrow as Industry Convenes to Show Support for Recovery of the Industry
Sir Tim Clark opens ATM Virtual 2021
- Virtual element of hybrid ATM takes place from 24 26 May
- The in-person event successfully concluded last week having welcomed exhibitors from 62 countries and travel professionals from over 100 countries
- Aviation, regional tourism, destinations and technology some of the key topics to be discussed on the first day of ATM Virtual 2021
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Middle East region's largest travel and tourism showcase,Arabian Travel Marketcontinues this week from Monday 24 May to Wednesday 26 May with the highly anticipatedATM Virtualevent. During the three-day showcase, which begins tomorrow, those unable to attend the in-person event this year have the opportunity to view sessions recorded from the in-person event, as well as participate in a range of webinars, live conference sessions, roundtables, speed networking events, destination briefings, as well as make new connections in one-to-one meetings.
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said:"We are thrilled to be able to continue with ATM Virtual 2021 off the back of the hugely successful in-person event at the Dubai World Trade Centre last week. We must be able to reach a wider audience as possible as the travel and tourism sector unites to pave the way forward towards fast-paced recovery beyond COVID-19."
Under the theme of 'A new dawn for travelandtourism', the virtual event begins with an exclusive airline industry leadership keynote interview with Emirates'President Sir Tim Clark at 10:30 am to 11:30 am GST, with airline expert John Strickland from JLS Consulting. It will be followed by IATA's Director General Willie Walsh keynote interview at 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm GST, also with John Strickland and will explore the priority issues on Willie Walshs agenda and seek his views on how IATA needs to drive engagement and consistency of approach to permit airlines to begin the process of recovery.
One of the many highlights from the in-person event last week, the Saudi Arabia Tourism Summit returns virtually on Monday 24 May at 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm GST, for an exclusive look at the future of Saudi Arabias hotel landscape. With the long-term tourism outlook more bullish than ever, hotel industry heavyweights including Accor's TIMEA CEO Mark Willis, Olivier Harnisch, Head of Hospitality, Public Investment Fund (PIF), Saudi Arabia, Hassan Ahdab, President of Hotels Operations for Dur Hospitality, and Christopher Lund, Director, Head of Hotels, MENA Region, Colliers International, will discuss the vast potential for new and innovative hospitality concepts that keep pace with this demand and fast-changing guest demographics, now and in the future.
Elsewhere on the conference agenda on the first day of ATM Virtual 2021, Douglas Quinby, Co-Founder and CEO of Arival, shares exclusive research on the outlook for tours, activities, attractions and key trends shaping the sectors revival post-pandemic. Meanwhile, delegates will hear from Emaar Entertainments CEO Zeina Dagher on her experience of how attractions have adapted to the downturn and where attraction development, distribution, and guest experience is headed in 2021 and beyond.
Other hot topics include a session exploring the changes afoot amid the rise of online travel agencies (OTAs) and what this means for tour and attraction operators across the region, as well a candid interview with Peter Jamieson, Head of technology at Abu Dhabis Department of Culture and Tourism, as he discusses how the UAEs capital is looking to reimagine the guest experience by creating a truly connected and personalised experience from travel planning to arrival and experiencing the destination.
Later in the week at ATM Virtual 2021, the ATM Hotel Industry Summit will examine hospitality trends such as wellness and sustainability.
"The ATM Hotel Industry Summit is the opportune platform for hotel industry trade professionals to explain how theyve adapted to the super-acceleration of global wellness and sustainability movements, evolving their hotels and services to respond to overwhelming traveller demand for health and wellbeing solutions and sustainable practices that support the environment and local communities,"Curtis added.
The third day of ATM Virtual on Wednesday 26 May, will include highlights such as Cultural Tourism for Growth and Responsible Technology for TravelandTourism sessions, as well as the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Conference taking place at 2 pm to 5:45 pm GST, with the theme, Ready.Safe.Travel.
The Middle East Tourism Investment Summit organised by ITIC in partnership with Arabian Travel Market 2021 will also take place virtually on 27 May.
For the full virtual conference programme, please visit:https://bit.ly/34fDJWl
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About Arabian Travel Market (ATM)
Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now on its 28th year, continues to be the focal point for the Middle Easts resilient and ever-changing travel and tourism landscape and prides itself on being the hub of all travel and tourism ideas, providing a platform to discuss insights on the ever-changing industry, share innovations and unlock endless business opportunities. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week.www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html#IdeasArriveHere
Next virtual event: Monday 24 to Wednesday 26 May 2021
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About Arabian Travel Week
Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2021. It includes ATM Virtual,Arival Dubai and Travel Forward a new travel tech and hospitality innovation event launching this year. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums,the International Travel Investment Conference (ITIC) Summit, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) forum, as well as the Saudi and China Summits. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle Easts travel and tourism sector, Arabian Travel Week will take place in Dubai from Sunday 16thto Thursday 26th May 2021. www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
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About Reed Exhibitions Global
Reed Exhibitionsis a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants.Our events leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to enable our customers to connect face-to-face or digitally and generate billions of dollars of revenues for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world.Reed Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics for professional and business customers.www.reedexhibitions.com
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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 approximately33bn,39bn,$47bn.*
*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found athttp://www.relx.com/investors
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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 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.
Next event: Monday 1 November to 3 November 2021 at ExCel London
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 Latin Americaattracts around 19,000 participants 11,586 unique. The trade show, which takes place in So Paulo, has a worldwide audience that meets to establish the direction of the travel industry. The event is recognised for attracting a high level of professionals from the segment, including buyers and travel agents. It also offers programmes with qualified content and plenty of opportunities for networking and generating business that is relevant to the travel industry.
Next event: Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 August 2021 Expo Center Norte, So Paulohttp://latinamerica.wtm.com/
WTM Africalaunched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa.More than 6,000travel industry professionals attend Africas 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.
Aashif Shaikh
Mumbai, India