Prominent tourism figures will be participating in-person at the opening session of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Global Stage 2021 – ‘Tourism for a brighter future’ which is being held on Sunday 16 May 2021, at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
The
line-up includes foremost speakers, such as His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai’s Department
of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dr. Taleb Rifai, former Secretary-General
of the United Nations' World Tourism Organization, Scott Livermore, Chief
Economist at Oxford Economics Middle East and Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing
Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.
Moderated by CNN, the session
will examine the critical factors that will deliver a strong, fast-paced and
sustainable recovery in travel and tourism and the pivotal role that the sector
will play in the UAE’s overall economic growth. Other topics that will be discussed
include, knowledge and cultural exchange, technological innovation and
international collaboration.
Also high on the agenda is
the Gulf-Israeli
ties session which will discuss the vast travel and tourism
opportunities presented by bilateral agreements between the Gulf and Israel.
Main speakers include H.E. Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi,
Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises for the
UAE, Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Minister of Tourism for Israel and H.E. Mr. Zayed bin
Rashid Alzayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to the Kingdom of
Bahrain and Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority.
The four-day conference will
address a broad range of topics, from travel and health, as well as dedicated
forums on China, Saudi Arabia and India, plus a dedicated hotel summit, looking
at the changing roles of hotels and the changing hospitality landscape.
The Saudi Arabia Tourism
Summit will discuss the Vision 2030 strategy’s positive repercussions, the ambitious
megaprojects and how the country is setting new global industry benchmarks. It
will feature high-level experts including Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO, Saudi
Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), Dr. Afnan Alshuaiby, Founder & CEO of FNN
International and Chairperson of Arab international Women’s Forum, Jerry
Inzerillo, CEO, Diriyah Gate Development Authority and John Pagano, CEO, Red
Sea Development Company.
Commenting, Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME,
Arabian Travel Market, said: “The general theme of this year’s show is ‘A new
dawn for travel and tourism’ and the opening session will get the show, off to
a positive, practical and optimistic start.
Running in parallel with the
Global Stage is the four-day Travel Forward Theatre at ATM, which through
world-class technology experts and renowned industry figures, will provide
industry-leading insights about the latest technologies and trends that will
undoubtedly shape the future of travel and tourism.
Other highlights include the
International Tourism and Investment Conference, plus other co-located events
including the Digital Influencer Speed Networking event and Buyers’ Club
forums.
In-person on the show floor, 62
countries represented by main stand holders and sharers will be participating
this year. They include the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Germany, Cyprus,
Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Italy, Greece, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea,
Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico and the USA to name but a few.
“Undoubtedly, discussion on
the show floor will be focused on the very latest ‘COVID’ news from around the
world – vaccine rollouts, social and travel restrictions and as consequence,
the current state of the industry emerging trends and what the future holds,”
said Curtis.
ATM 2021
will also play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, which will feature
exhibitions, conferences, breakfast briefings, awards, product launches and
networking events.
Also, for
the first time,
a new hybrid format will mean a virtual ATM running a week later to complement
and reach a wider audience than ever before. ATM
Virtual, which made its debut earlier this year after ATM 2020 was postponed,
proved to be a resounding success attracting 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries. For full conference
programme details for ATM Virtual 2021, go to: https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb/conference-programme/atm-live-virtual.html#/sessions
“Many industry professionals
from around the world, may not be able to attend the in-person event,
particularly this year with travel restrictions still in place, so It is
imperative that we include a virtual element to accommodate them,” said Curtis.
Dubai
is committed to maintaining the highest standards of health and safety and its
effective citywide management of the pandemic received a strong endorsement
from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which gave the city a ‘Safe
Travels’ stamp.
“Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world to
visit with a wide range of precautionary measures in place to ensure the safety
of tourists at every stage and touchpoint of their travel journey, from arrival
to departure,” said Cutis.
“Well
over nine million doses have already been administered in the UAE, so it is appropriate that Dubai should
host the first major in-person travel event in the world since the outbreak of
the global pandemic and that HE Al Marri should be addressing delegates during
the opening session,” she added.
ATM
2021 takes place at
the DWTC on Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 May, with strategic
partners including Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM)
as Destination Partner, Emaar Hospitality Group as Official Hotel Partner and
Emirates as Official Airline Partner.
If
you are planning to attend ATM in-person, please feel free to post using the
hashtag #ImGoingtoATM.
Registrations
for ATM 2021 are open. To register, go to https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb/enquire.html
For more
news about ATM, please visit: https://hub.wtm.com/category/press/atm-press-releases/
