Economic recovery is in the air and this is being picked up in the travel and tourism industry. As Arabian Travel Market (ATM) prepares for its 17th edition LUCIE JAMES marketing manager Reed Travel Exhibitions speaks to TTN about what’s in store.
What are your expectations for this year’s Arabian Travel Market?
This year’s ATM is already shaping up to be one of the most successful editions in the show’s 16 year history.
The outlook this year is much more optimistic then in recent years. We’re very excited to see what new trends and developments emerge at this year’s show as the industry moves forward into the future.
How many exhibitors are registered and how does this compare to previous years?
This year we are expecting more then 2,200 exhibitors from over 60 countries covering six continents, including 50 new-to-market representatives. During this time of recovery we are experiencing huge interest in the show, reaffirming ATM’s position as the Middle East’s premier travel and tourism show.
Does this bear out the cautious optimism that has been evident across the industry in recent months?
It certainly does, this year the travel and tourism trade as a whole is much more positive. The industry is showing strong signs that it’s on the road to recovery, the worst appears to be over. Arabian Travel Market is a crucial lynch-pin in the recovery efforts, affording visitors and exhibitors a platform to plan successful recovery efforts in a business-focused environment.
How many of these exhibitors are from the GCC and the Mena region?
More than 700 exhibitors are from the Mena region with half of these coming from the UAE specifically. This year’s event will feature major representatives from all GCC countries as well as Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Libya, Iran and Yemen.
Where are the others coming from?
Exhibitors are coming from all over the world – Africa, Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Australasia and North and South America, proving that more and more destinations see the Middle East as a crucial market when developing their tourism strategy.
Are you expecting visitor numbers to be up on last year?
Arabian Travel Market has always prided itself on attracting top-tier quality visitors, ie quality over quantity. This remains a priority this year as we concentrate on creating a business-to-business networking event.
What’s in store on the seminar programme and who are the key speakers?
Due to high demand, this year we have doubled our seminar programme, we have introduced the new ‘Debate Room’ which will be complimented by the ‘Single Seminar’ room. We have key industry heavy-weights from across the travel and tourism trade who will cover a wide-range of industry sectors such as hospitality, human resources, aviation, value travel and many more.
We will also introduce for the first time a series of marketing seminars called Ask the Experts. These seminars have been designed to help companies market themselves effectively in the challenging economic climate. Giving a step by step guide, experts will explain the importance of public relations, social media and SMS marketing.
As if that isn’t enough, the programme will also host a wide variety of single seminars which include: Deloitte’s Middle East and World Review, Destinations of the World’s seminar on sensory hotels, Euromonitor’s report on Middle Eastern trends, the Banyan Tree’s luxury tourism, Google’s technology seminar, Royal Caribbean International’s cruise seminar and much, much more.
Anything new to look out for this year?
Besides our enhanced seminar programme, for Arabian Travel Market 2010 we will be introducing a new concept, ‘Zone 8’, which will provide a more relaxed area for informal networking away from the hustle and bustle of the main floor. The area offers increased opportunities for visitors to interact with various destinations first hand through a series of live shows, which will serve to showcase new destinations and products.
We have also invested heavily in the show’s online activity, introducing Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts in addition to our regular web site. The all-year-round web presence allows visitors, exhibitors and the media to interact with one another prior to, during and after the event. The website has been enhanced and now carries up-to-the-minute news from Arabian Travel Market and its exhibitors, meaning everyone can keep up-to-date with developments regarding the show, as well as providing other key worldwide industry news direct from its Twitter feed.