With travel and tourism demand stronger than ever, Arabian Travel Market organisers expect major industry announcements at this year’s show
WITH pre-registered visitor numbers up by 56 per cent, Mark Walsh, group exhibition director for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) and Reed Travel Exhibitions is confident of another productive year. This year’s event, hosted at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from April 30 – May 3 will bring on-board several new elements including a remodelled floor space to make everything more accessible and a larger seminar programme that will see a series of new technology seminars, sponsored by Sabre.
Walsh speaks to TTN about what’s in store.
ATM has seen a steady increase in year-on-year attendance growth from 2009 to 2011. What are your expectations for 2012?
I always have high expectations for ATM, but even more so this year. According to the latest industry forecast issued by international industry consultant Business Monitor International (BMI), the UAE is expecting a record nine million visitors, a healthy nine per cent increase on the 8.2 million visitors last year, so tourism in the Gulf region is buoyant to say the least.
That positive sentiment has also been echoed in the number of pre-registered visitors for ATM this year which is up 56 per cent from the same time last year, so we are confident that our visitor numbers will exceed those of last year. Demand for our onsite press conference rooms has also been exceptionally strong - we are expecting major announcements this year from some of the biggest brands in the regional travel and tourism industry.
In terms of exhibition space, this year the show adapts a new layout. Has this allowed for more space and reach? What can we expect to see this year?
ATM is constantly looking at ways to improve the show and this year, in an effort to make the show more visitor-friendly, we have remodelled the floor space to make everything more accessible, with exhibition halls now in a more convenient layout.
For example, visitors can now walk from the organisers’ office to the press centre and back into the halls in the same time it would have taken them previously just to get from hall one to eight. This efficiently maximises marketing time by reducing the time walking between appointments.
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FORMULA FOR SUCCESS: A visitor checks out the Etihad Airways stand at last year’s ATM |
Also new this year, five industry sectors will be highlighted on the floor as ‘Industry Trails’ to give visitors easy directions to exhibitors with these products. The five sectors in focus are airlines, sport, cruise, medical and religious tourism.
How many hosted buyers are expected to attend ATM 2012? What percentage of this will be from the region versus the rest of the world?
So far we have approximately 2,000 hosted buyers registered for ATM 2012, up from around 1,600 from the same time last year. At least half of the registered buyers for this year’s show are attending from overseas.
The region has always showed much support to ATM. Can we expect to see the same or more participation this year, in the wake of the Arab Spring?
ATM has always been very fortunate to receive great support, not only from the government of Dubai but from many industry stakeholders throughout the entire region. In February, for the second year running, we hosted a series of exhibitor workshops, where the ATM team visited a number of countries around the region to meet in person with the exhibitors and explain how maximise their time at the show.
This initiative has been incredibly successful, and it allows us to interact with our partners, exhibitors and sponsors well in advance of the show to ensure any issues, or indeed suggestions are addressed and adopted as appropriate.
Just to give you an idea on pre-registration figures of the countries visited on this tour, Qatar pre-registrations for this year’s show have surged by 133 per cent against the 2011 figures; Saudi online visitor registrations are up 118 per cent; visitor registrations from Oman have risen 131 per cent, and the number of visitors interested in buying products and services from the Sultanate is up 109 per cent; while Kuwaiti online pre-registrations have seen a 118 per cent year-on-year increase.
Do you expect the UNWTO session to help drive home a positive message about the region’s tourism industry? What are we expect to see?
Our decision to invite the region’s tourism ministers was as a direct result of discussions at the UNWTO/ATM session at the World Travel Market in London in November last year. We wanted to provide a transparent platform for regional industry figures to express their opinions about the current travel and tourism landscape of the Middle East.
Scheduled to take place on the first day of the show, the UNWTO forum will pick up on feedback from regional tourism leaders, which highlighted increased co-operation and the expansion of tourism products as key drivers for future tourism growth.
The on-going changes in the Middle East and North Africa bring enormous opportunities. Rule of law and democracy will empower local communities, opening the door for greater engagement in the process of tourism development. There will potentially be a more transparent business environment, increased support for smaller businesses as well as stronger regional integration and co-operation.
Tell us about the new technology theatre seminar series. How can visitors make the most of the series?
Technological development is undoubtedly having a major impact on the global tourism industry and the region is no exception. Embracing and implementing the next generation technologies will be one of the critical issues discussed ATM this year.
To accommodate new technological trends, we have expanded our seminar programme to introduce a series of new technology seminars, sponsored by Sabre. The sessions in this theatre will examine what’s new online, discuss the shift in booking behaviour toward online options and address the impact the new advancements in technology will have on the travel trade industry.
Our industry is all about mobility and both travel professionals and customers are rapidly embracing mobile internet and social media. In line with this ATM has a dedicated app, which provides up-to-date exhibitor lists, event features including the full seminar programme and instant access to all the latest ATM news, videos, press releases and photos.
Moreover, the ATM exhibitor portal allows exhibitors to easily manage their online profile, access important services and information about the show, and streamline their appointments, which means that more business can be conducted onsite.
Attendees can sign up to ‘My ATM’ and create an account on the website prepare for the event and build their own personalized show planner. By signing up to My ATM, they will be able to access advanced site features, flag seminar sessions of interest to them and have direct contact with exhibitors listed in the exhibitor directory.
What are the other key industry issues that will be addressed at the seminar programmes this year?
At this year’s seminar theatre there will be several sessions that address tourism new opportunities across the Middle East, with a particular interest in the rise of tourism niches. These include ‘Philanthropic Travel in the Middle East’, ‘Return of the Dhow’ and a special seminar focusing on the numerous world class sporting events held in the region, such as the FIFA World Cup, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Dubai World Cup.
ATM also has a long history of delivering high calibre aviation insight and 2012 is no different with the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker headlining an impressive line-up of Aviation aviation.
We also feel that the seminar programme also has a responsibility to address key issues faced by the region and offer expert advice about how to tackle these obstacles. Obviously the past year has been a turbulent time for the travel industry, which is why we have a series of seminars covering regional and global trends and predictions for the future. This will all be kicked off with a review of the past year lead by The Economist’s John Andrews, as the region ‘bounces back from the Arab Spring.
How successful has the concept of the New Frontiers Award been? Who are this year’s nominees?
Launched in 2005 by ATM, The New Frontiers Award has been designed to recognise outstanding contributions to tourism development in the face of overwhelming adversity, helping the chosen destination with an exceptional marketing opportunity by donating exhibition space at the show to the value of $10,000.
Making the shortlist for 2012 are Japan, Australia, Pakistan and Brazil, all of which suffered devastating natural catastrophes during the past year.