OMAN, Qatar and the UAE outside Dubai have been nominated as the top three emerging markets in the GCC in a recent survey of tourism leaders conducted by organisers of the Arabian Hotel

Investment Conference (AHIC), to be held in Dubai April 30 - May 2, 2005. In addition, Saudi Arabia was identified as a new destination with potential to develop a successful tourism product in the longer term.
Conference organiser Jonathan Worsley said that the online survey of the 45-member AHIC advisory panel revealed both chief executives of regional tourism icons as well as international hospitality companies were in agreement on the prime locations for future hotel and tourism investment. As a result, these markets will all be the subject of dedicated country focus panels at the conference.
Worsley said: “While the consensus is that Dubai is the leader in the regional hospitality industry, this success is set to be replicated in neighbouring states – many of which have already set in motion development plans to exploit their tourism potential. However, countries such as Qatar – which has been tipped as a destination to watch by the travel giant Thomsons – have demonstrated the virtues of complementary tourism and diversity, rather than copycat developments.” 
The conference is set to attract more than 300 delegates to discuss topics as broad-ranging as environmental and sustainable tourism to real estate issues, investment and industry trends, supply / demand dynamics and security issues.
The event will be held at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort, setting the scene for the region’s largest-dedicated travel exhibition, Arabian Travel Market, which opens on May 3. The conference is organised by CB Richard Ellis Hotels, the largest commercial real estate firm in the world, and MEED Conferences. Among the event’s sponsors are IFA Hotels and Resorts, Nakheel, Kingdom Hotels Investment, Rezidor SAS Hospitality and TTN.