The Arabian Travel Market (ATM) takes place from April 24 to 27 and marks the debut of ILTM Arabia. The exhibition will accommodate 2,800 exhibitors and welcome 30,000 visitors. The focus is on Expo 2020, regional challenges and travel trends
Expenditure on outbound travel from the Middle East is expected to reach $165.3 billion by 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
Highlighting the buoyant outbound travel market, another report, issued by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (2015 Tourism Highlights), which includes research teams from Frost & Sullivan and Insights Middle East, revealed a 9 per cent growth in the number of outbound travellers from the region in 2015, while the total estimated value of outbound travellers from the GCC in 2014 was $64 billion.
The common denominator for both these reports is that the growth is being driven by international luxury travellers, which dovetails conveniently with the launch of International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Arabia, in collaboration with Arabian Travel Market (ATM).
The new vertical luxury event takes place on the first two days of the four-day ATM (April 24 to 25) located in hall 1 of the Dubai World Trade Centre.
ILTM Arabia will target high-net-worth travellers from throughout the GCC and wider Middle East region, with buyers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar expected to have a particularly strong presence.
Halal summit
The inaugural ATM Global Halal Tourism Summit 2017, from 12.20 on April 26, will bring together some of the world’s leading Muslim travel experts to discuss the nuances of this fast-growing sector.
The global Muslim travel market was valued at $151 billion in 2015, representing around 10 per cent of the global international tourism market and, by 2021, that value is expected to reach $243 billion.
Uniting the industry’s leading halal travel experts, the Global Halal Tourism Summit will reveal the industry’s true scope and size, development strategies, and potential for future growth.
Simon Press, senior exhibition director, Arabian Travel Market, commented: “The Islamic economy is growing at nearly double the global rate. Muslim consumer spending on food and lifestyle reached $1.8 trillion in 2014 and is projected to reach $2.6 trillion in 2020. Travel and tourism has been identified as one of the key growth markets within the Islamic economy yet until now it didn’t have a professional platform through which to collaborate on ideas, initiatives and growth strategies. We are delighted to be providing that platform and helping the industry to come together.”
The Islamic economy is growing at nearly double the global rate. Muslim consumer spending on food and lifestyle reached $1.8 trillion in 2014 and is projected to reach $2.6 trillion in 2020