The First Major In-person International Travel Trade Event to Return to the Calendar since 2019
Thousands of European exhibitors, visitors and buyers will travel to Dubai for Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which will be the first live major travel trade show anywhere in the world this year.
Organised by Reed Exhibitions, the 28th edition of ATM will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on 16-19 May 2021.
The rapid pace of vaccinations across Europe and the Middle East means that travel trade professionals will be able to do business face-to-face – for the first time since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
Reflecting the post-pandemic recovery, the theme of the show will be ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism’.
Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said:
“We are delighted to see such strong support from European delegates who are preparing to travel for business again, and eager to return to live events.
“With ATM lined up as the first opportunity for the global travel industry to meet again in-person, the feedback we hear from exhibitors is that the travel trade is keen to reunite, reconnect and rebuild.”
ATM will be an integral part of Arabian Travel Week (16-26 May) – a festival of events, conferences, exhibitions, networking and briefings.
Furthermore, a new hybrid format will also see a virtual ATM running on 24-26 May to reach a wider audience than ever before.
ATM Virtual, which made its debut last year after ATM 2020 was postponed, attracted 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries.
Curtis said:
“A virtual element is vital because many industry professionals from around the world will be unable to attend the live event.
“Some countries are seeing a slower easing of travel restrictions than others, and our experience from ATM Virtual last year proved how valuable an online event can be.
“The hybrid format of face-to-face and online meetings offers the best of both worlds.”
Registration is live for ATM and the show has already more than 15% signed up visitor delegates from Europe.
The largest contingent is from the UK followed by Turkey and Russia. Other large delegations come from Germany, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands.
There is a wide range of European countries represented among the delegates, from Spain, Portugal, France and Ireland in the west of the continent to Slovenia, Ukraine, Finland and Uzbekistan in the north and east.
Exhibitors from Europe or with operations in Europe, include hotels and resorts, tour operators, destination management companies, event organisers, car hire firms and technology providers.
Tourist boards that will be exhibiting come from countries such as Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Poland, Slovenia and Turkey – plus cities such as Vienna and Brussels.
Well-known brands among the exhibitors include Hilton, Marriott International, Melia Hotels and even Manchester City Football Club.
Furthermore, the European hosted buyers list includes delegates from 30 countries across the continent of Europe, representing nearly 25% of all the hosted buyers at ATM.
Curtis concluded:
“ATM will be the first chance in more than a year for the global travel industry to meet in-person again as our sector looks to bounce back.
“We are all eager to help the travel sector to recover. The resilience of our delegates and exhibitors to overcome these challenging times is clear and we are determined to create an innovative forum to discuss the way forward for our industry and generate vital business opportunities.”