TTN

Luxury fuelling growth

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

Share  
At the heart of Arabian Travel Market is a positive, busy energy that comes from meaningful interactions and successful business meetings

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

Expo 2020

Expo 2020, between October 2020 and April 2021, will bring together more than 180 nations and is expected to host an international audience of 25 million visitors.

‘Expo 2020 Dubai: The Legacy’, chaired by UAE broadcaster Richard Dean, kicks off proceedings at 12.30 on April 24, the opening day of ATM 2017.

The session will assess the role of Expo 2020 in delivering the UAE government’s long-term vision for economic diversification. Panellists will discuss the core theme of sustainability as part of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Year of Sustainable Tourism Development; the potential legacy of the mega project; and the future of the UAE as a knowledge economy, a leading global city, and tourism destination.

Drawing reference from their unique professional perspectives, the panel will also outline the true impact of Expo 2020 on the UAE and the wider GCC’s travel, tourism and aviation industries, considering the big picture infrastructure and investments planned for the next 10 to 15 years.

 

Ministerial forum

Visitors to the Mena region will total 195 million by 2030, growing at a rate higher than the world average, according to figures released by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). 

The rapid development of the sector will form part of the discussion at the UNWTO & ATM Ministerial Forum at the Arabian Travel Market, which is being held from April 24 to 27 in Dubai World Trade Centre. The Forum returns to the show repertoire this year, with a focus on the contribution of tourism to sustainable economic growth and diversification in the Mena region.

“Tourism has become a key economic activity across the region, particularly in the GCC countries, where it is establishing itself as a pillar and key driver of the modern ‘post–oil’ economies of those countries,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“In addition to generating foreign exchange earnings and creating jobs, tourism promotes trade and investment and significantly contributes to the development of other sectors of the economy – such as construction, manufacture, retail and financial services – and it also contributes significantly to the socio-economic integration of countries of the Mena region,” he added.

Tourism has become an undisputed vehicle of advancing the global economy, representing 10 per cent of the world’s GDP, 30 per cent of services exports and one in every 11 jobs.

Spacer