Online registration for the 15th Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held in Dubai from May 6 to 9, has gone live four weeks ahead of schedule.
The online portal www.arabiantravelmarket.com has been launched ahead of time to allow organisers Reed Travel Exhibitions to collate and match potential visitors and exhibitors.
Using tailored specific visitor details, the organisers can recommend visitors on the key exhibitors they should meet, the seminars they should attend and other areas of interest to maximise their time.
“The overall aim is to maximise the productivity when visiting the event,” said Lucie James, marketing manager ATM.
“In 2007, we attracted over 22,000 visitors from 108 countries and expect this year’s edition to top that. However, our main focus is on quality and ensuring the right visitors meet with the correct suppliers, which is a core driver in maintaining and enhancing Arabian Travel Market’s long established reputation as the essential place to do business.”
For 2008’s show, organisers are aiming to attract many more new destinations and innovative tourism products and service providers to provide visitors with new and emerging business opportunities.
“The Arabian Travel Market team is attending events around the world and is working with partners, such as Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing to attract more regional and international visitors to the event,” stated Simon Press, exhibition director ATM.
Over 100 main stand holders from 45 countries are already signed up for the travel show to be held at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. The exhibition is seeing steady overall space uptake by nearly 40 official tourist bodies representing 30 countries, including new exhibitors from Bangladesh, Croatia and Nigeria.
Reed Travel Exhibitions has also introduced key changes to the 2008 show format in response to exhibitor feedback to foster an increased B2B setting. These include making the event trade-only on the first three days, with consumers invited to attend the final day, as well as boasting a revised, industry-reactive seminar programme – which will be housed on the showfloor for the first time.
In addition to this, an improved floorplan with hotel, travel and technology companies being flanked by Europe on one side and the United Arab Emirates and Middle East on the other, followed by Africa, the Americas and Asia, is being implemented for 2008.