WITS15 to debut in Abu Dhabi

The World Islamic Travel Summit 2015 (WITS15), the largest showcase of Halal travel and tourism solutions, is to debut in UAE capital Abu Dhabi next October.

The pioneering conference and exhibition will run over two halls at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), from October 19 to 21, 2015.

The event will include an exhibition with over 200 participants plus a 1,000-delegate conference, comprising keynote sessions, panel discussions, a Ministerial debate and 150 presentations from 70 international speakers.

WITS15 is being brought to the UAE capital by organiser Cacti Events with the support of Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau – the dedicated business events promotion arm of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).

Organised under the theme ‘Driving The Halal Tourism Revolution,’ the event will bring together an unprecedented array of international specialists, projects, suppliers and policy-makers.

“The Halal tourism market is booming with analysts saying it now represents 13 per cent of the global market,” said WITS15 events manager Hosam Moustafa.  “A recent Muslim travel report, released by the consultancy DinarStandard and rating agency Crescent Rating, projects that until at least 2020, Muslim international tourism will increase faster than conventional tourism – 4.79 per cent versus 3.8 per cent. At that point, overall annual spending for international Muslim tourism is expected to reach $192 billion and these figures don’t even include estimated Hajj and Umrah expenditures.”

“Many Muslim majority markets are now fast emerging economies, with higher than average population growth rates supported by a young demographic,” said Sultan Al Dhaheri, acting executive director tourism, TCA Abu Dhabi. “Against this background, expenditure by Halal tourists is expected to rise more than 6 per cent per annum for the foreseeable future, which is almost double global industry growth.”

WITS15 is expected to draw high profile international attendance from government delegations, tourism associations, market-leading private sector operators and leading financiers funding Islamic tourism projects.

The event will focus strongly on the intra-tourism between the 57 members states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) - the second largest inter-governmental organisation after the UN with a membership spread over four continents.

Keynote conference sessions will focus on practical applications to increase intra OIC tourism productivity – innovative technologies, capacity building and entrepreneurship, the role of the private sector and the way that local bodies can quickly adopt and adapt the best international thinking. – TradeArabia News Service