REED Travel Exhibitions (RTE), organiser of Arabian Travel Market, the Middle East’s premier travel and tourism event taking place from May 6 to 9, has introduced key changes to this year’s show format in response to exhibitor feedback.
The four day event at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) will now be open to the trade only on the first three days, and when it is open to general public on the last day it will feature many competitions and promotions.
Show timings have been altered for the benefit of travel trade professionals and to avoid peak traffic hours, and opens at 11am and closes at 7pm on the first three days while on May 9 the show will open at 4pm and close at 9pm.
“Working to ensure exhibitor and visitor satisfaction is of the utmost importance for us,” said Simon Press, exhibition director, Arabian Travel Market. “At the end of each event, we conduct extensive contact programmes to gauge feedback from industry players.
“Post-show research has revealed that ATM has received very high satisfaction levels from both exhibitors and visitors. Revised timings will allow trade professionals more time to conduct business and network with exhibitors as well as buyers.”
The improved floorplan has hotel, travel and technology companies flanked by Europe on one side and the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East, on the other side followed by North Africa, Africa, the Americas and Asia.
“Following Arabian Travel Market 2007, we wanted to improve the visitor footprint throughout the show. For the 2008 event, we have decided to give Europe a main entrance and sandwich the hotels, car rental and technology area between the Middle East and Europe halls. By taking this action, the flow from Middle East through to Europe will be time effective for both visitors and exhibitors alike,” added Press.
“We have also grouped the United Arab Emirates with the rest of the Middle East and North Africa so all the tourism products from the region are in one area, which will help visitors locate them easily.”
The hosted buyer session will take place on the first day of the event prior to the official opening, giving exhibitors the opportunity to book key meetings with VIP buyers at the beginning of the week.
A seminar programme is to be delivered by top industry leaders and global tourism experts.
“We anticipate major growth from the hospitality sector, from Africa as well as from the travel technology products and services section we introduced at last year’s event. We will also be adding more exciting features and look forward to announcing them soon,” said Press.
Arabian Travel Market is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE, ruler of Dubai, and under the auspices of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.