ATM roadshow returns ‘home’ to meet
key industry players ahead of 2015 showcase; Emirates’ top 10 tourism projects
touch US$40 billion investment
Arabian Travel Market’s 2015 roadshow
series returns to familiar home ground tomorrow (25th February 2015)
as the Reed Travel Exhibitions team hosts the UAE leg of its eight city tour in
Dubai .
A number of exhibitors are expected to
attend the open forum event, which will see ATM representatives share the
latest updates on this year’s line-up of specialist events and seminar series’,
and invite participating industry players to discuss how to capitalise on
market and PR opportunities in the build up to and during ATM.
The number of confirmed UAE exhibitors at
ATM 2015, which includes individual UAE emirate pavilions, currently tallies
152 companies with 19 new exhibitors including Dubai Parks & Resorts,
Getabed, Holiday Store Travel, R Hotels Group and Four Seasons Hotels and
Resorts.
According to the Q3 2014 Alpen Capital GCC Hospitality Industry
Report, in the last 10 years the UAE has
emerged as the preferred regional destination for leisure as well as business
tourism. Its tourism receipts have increased at a CAGR of 12.4% between 2004
and 2013 and its share of the total GCC receipts increased from 30.2% to 41.4% over
the same period.
“With
the UAE securing highly visible ‘mega events’ such as the upcoming World
Expo2020, the sector is developing rapidly and this presents numerous
opportunities for the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing to
realise its forecast of 16.5 to 18 million leisure and three to four million
business visitors by the end of the decade,” said Nadege
Noblet, Exhibition Manager of Arabian Travel Market.
To
keep pace, the country’s hotel pipeline is also set to grow substantially with
data research house STR Global reporting a total of 144 hotels and resorts in
the active pipeline with a planned count of 40,142 rooms, which according to
the latest Alpen Capital report, is less than a third of the 140,000+ rooms
actually required, so doubtless there are many more projects launches in the offing.
“According
to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the UAE will retain its position as
a regional tourism leader, with the sector valued at US$ 31.8 billion by the
end of 2018.
“If
you consider the fact that the top 10 tourism projects in the Emirates
represent a collective investment of just under US$ 40 billion, the local
tourism and hospitality industry is going to accelerate to another level
entirely.
“So
this roadshow is a great opportunity to bring the country’s key players
together ahead of the show, to share their own thoughts of how the UAE tourism
landscape is likely to look in just 5 years’ time,” said Noblet.
Among
the MEED-listed projects under development are the US$ 5.8 billion Mall of the
World development, which will be the largest retail destination on the planet,
complete with a dedicated wellness hub; the US$ 9.1 billion Al Habtoor City
complex, with St Regis, Westin and W Hotels; and Emaar’s US$ 8 billion Cultural
District. In total the UAE has earmarked 18 museums and cultural initiatives,
88 retail developments, 24 theme parks, 15 sporting venues, 17 convention
centres and 7 theatres, as per MEED intelligence.
The
aviation sector expansion is also supporting the country’s tourism development
agenda with Dubai International expected to welcome 126.5 million passengers by
2020, the huge Al Maktoum International site set to eventually accommodate up
to 160 million passengers per annum, and continued network and fleet growth of
the UAE’s airlines.
“Looking
at it in financial terms, Oxford Economics puts the combined economic force of aviation
and tourism-related activities in Dubai
alone to hit US$ 53.1 billion in 2020 and US$ 88.1 billion by 2030, with almost
1.2 million jobs created,” Noblet added.
Current and potential exhibitors attending the
roadshow will learn about new event features including this year’s specialist
sector theme, which is family travel, and the popular Tech seminars line-up,
plus other marketing and PR tips to maximise their visibility at the show.
The ATM seminars return covering travel
technology and other key industry issues such as luxury travel trends, business
travel, aviation. Also returning are the visitor trails, helping visitors
identify the specific travel sectors on the show floor including: family
travel, budget travel, business travel, health & wellbeing, shopping,
transportation, sports travel, cultural and heritage and adventure travel.
The ATM line-up will also include a two-day ILTM@ATM programme hosting
25 top Middle East luxury buyers, comprising a
series of pre-scheduled appointments and dedicated luxury travel-focused
seminars and panel debates, on the 5 & 6 May.
The 2015 event will also build on the
success of last year’s edition with the announcement of an additional hall adding
an additional 2,000
square metres of floor space as Reed Travel Exhibitions looks to add to its record-breaking achievements in
2014. Last year ATM saw total attendance increase by 12% with 33,000 participants,
from more than 131 countries and business deals signed worth more than US$ 2.1 billion over the four days.
For more information on Arabian
Travel Market 2015, please log on to: www.arabiantravelmarket.com