Dubai: The 28 th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the region’s largest travel and tourism
showcase, returned to Dubai in-person this morning to shine the spotlight on Tourism
For a Brighter Future during the opening session at ATM’s Global Stage.
With 2021 ushering in a new dawn for travel and tourism, leading industry figureheads
from around the world kicked off the discussion on the ATM Global Stage as they
explored factors delivering the sector’s fast-paced recovery. Vaccinations, market
segmentation and innovations in tech, travel corridors, marketing and product
diversification were all highlighted as drivers for significant recovery by 2023.
Addressing the audience this morning, His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director
General, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said: “To
see true recovery in travel and tourism, countries need to accept that COVID-19 exists
and that we need to learn to live the new COVID-19 normal.
“Since the beginning, Dubai has shown remarkable resilience in dealing with the
pandemic. Taking decisive action at the right time, using all the data available to us as a
smart city to make decisions, and opening the economy sector by sector, with the right
precautions being taken at each stage, has enabled the gradual recovery of the traveland tourism industry and allowed the city to open its borders to both domestic and international travel.
“With the number of COVID-19 cases stabilising, due to high vaccination rates and
some of the highest testing rates in the world, we can expect to see further easing of
restrictions in Dubai in the near future,” he added.
Other notable speakers on the panel were Dr Taleb Rifai, Chairman ITIC & Former
Secretary General United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Scott
Livermore, Chief Economist of Oxford Economics Middle East, Dubai; and Mr Thoyyib
Mohamed, Managing Director, Maldives Tourism Board.
Elsewhere on the agenda on the ATM Global Stage, tourism ministers and key industry
stakeholders from the Gulf and Southern Europe convened during the Tourism Beyond
COVID Recovery session to discuss the vast opportunities for travel, tourism and
hospitality presented by the potential return of mass leisure tourism, medical and
educational travel, business events and beyond that, cross-cultural exchange and
collaboration.
This was followed by the ATM China Tourism Forum, which highlighted the continuing
importance of China as a major source market for many MENA destinations, and
examined the imminent return of inbound tourism from China as destinations including
Dubai near “COVID-19 safe” status due to the success of their domestic vaccination
drives.
Meanwhile, delegates at the ATM Travel Forward theatre heard from world-class
technology experts discussing industry-leading insights about the role of technology in
the future of travel.
“Technology plays a critical role in facilitating the restart of global travel and tourism in
the wake of the COVID-19 bounce back,” said Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME,
Arabian Travel Market. “The discussions taking place at ATM Travel Forward highlight
the readiness of travel businesses to face the new realities of the industry and provides
a valuable forum for identifying the new technologies and innovations essential to
restore travel confidence.”
Throughout the four-day event, ATM 2021 will feature 67 conference sessions with over
145 local, regional and international speakers. On the Global Stage, attendees will also
be able to attend the hotel industry summit, the ATM Saudi Arabia Tourism Summit:
Transformation through tourism, an International Tourism & Investment Conference
(ITIC), as well as an aviation panel, and a special session on lessons learned leading to
recovery and on-going resilience in world travel.
ATM 2021, which was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al
Maktoum, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, CEO and Founder of Emirates
Group and Chairman of Dubai World, continues on Monday 17 to Wednesday 19 May
at the to the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
Registrations for ATM 2021 are open. To register, go to https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-
gb/enquire.html
For more news about ATM, please visit: https://hub.wtm.com/category/press/atm-press-
releases/
