Local, regional and international travel and tourism professionals will converge on the Dubai World Trade Centre today for the opening of the Arabian Travel Market 2021 (ATM), the first major in-person international travel event since the outbreak of the pandemic.
One of the highlights of the first day will be the “Tourism for a Brighter Future” opening session taking place at 12 p.m. Moderated by Becky Anderson, managing editor, CNN Abu Dhabi, speakers include Helal Saeed Al-Marri, director general, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM); Dr. Taleb Rifai, chairman of ITIC and former secretary-general, United Nations World Tourism Organization; Scott Livermore, chief economist of Oxford Economics Middle East, Dubai; and Thoyyib Mohamed, managing director, Maldives Tourism Board.
Later in the afternoon, the “Tourism Beyond COVID Recovery” session will take place, at 2 p.m., and will include key speakers such as Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Belhoul Al-Falasi, minister of state for entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises for the UAE; Zayed R. Alzayani, minister of industry, commerce and tourism for Bahrain and chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority; and Haitham Mattar, managing director of India, Middle East and Africa, IHG Hotels and Resorts.
Another key event taking place on the first day is the China Tourism Forum to be held at 4 p.m. It will highlight the latest trends of outbound travel from China as well as the best way of meeting such demand. It will feature respected panelists representing both DMOs and Chinese outbound travel trade.
“This year more than any other, we, along with our partners and sponsors, have worked together closely, to enable an inspirational in-person event, that will set the tone for the Middle East travel and tourism industry for the rest of this year,” said Danielle Curtis, exhibition director, ATM Middle East.
“We will be looking to capitalize on the latest trends and opportunities, as well as meeting challenges head-on with innovative solutions — with governments, trade associations, industry professionals and influencers, all working in unison,” she added.
Under the theme of “A new dawn for travel and tourism,” the 28th edition of the four-day show, which concludes on May 19, has 62 countries being represented on the exhibition floor, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico and the US, underscoring the strength of the ATM brand and its international reach.
Away from the exhibition floor, a total of 67 conference sessions will take place featuring 145 local, regional and international speakers.
