Tag Archives: ATM

Deepak Narula, MD, GRNconnect, said the company will expand its offerings following key discussions at ATM. “There is a demand for more products,” he noted. GRNconnect also aims to adopt new technologies based on emerging trends. “Artificial intelligence is becoming visible, and it’s time to incorporate the same into our system,” he added, highlighting the company’s strategic tech focus.

GCC-based travel conglomerate Kanoo Travel and premium destination management company Desert Adventures Tourism have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a joint venture in Saudi Arabia at Arabian Travel Market 2023. The collaboration brings together two of the largest and most reputable travel trade organisations in the Middle East, aiming to create the most comprehensive destination services company in the region. The joint venture marks a significant milestone in both companies’ history as they combine their expertise, resources, and capabilities to provide travellers with unparalleled travel experiences in Saudi Arabia. Desert Adventures Tourism, managed by Thomas Cook India Group and wholly owned by Fairfax Financial Holdings Canada, has been a leading company and partner of choice for many worldwide tour operators with 25 years of experience in destination management in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Oman. Thecompany has developed a reputation for providing stability, consistency, and quality of service that its partners have come to trust.  Kanoo Travel, an esteemed travel company with a legacy spanning over eightdecades, offers the most comprehensive and reliable travel solutions. With a focus on corporate travel, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE), leisure and holiday travel, airline representation, and marine travel, Kanoo Travel has established itself as a leader in the travel industry. The company’s commitment to delivering exceptional solutions and services has been consistently acknowledged, resulting in numerous regional industry awards. Peter Payet, CEO of Desert Adventures, expressed excitement about the new venture, saying, “We are delighted to partner with Kanoo Travel to provide the most comprehensive destination services in Saudi Arabia. With their extensive local knowledge and resources and our international expertise, we are confident that this joint venture …

Tourism Malaysia’s efforts to publicize its comprehensive promotional activities continues to the Middle Eastern region. The Malaysian delegation is led by the The Honourable Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia, to participate once again in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai from 1st to 4th May 2023 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The four-day ATM offers Malaysia as an excellent platform to market and promote the latestattractions and destinations for shopping, family fun, eco-adventure, honeymoon, luxury holidays, as well as safe travel destination. ATM 2023 also marks the 29th anniversary of Malaysia’s participation in this prestigious event, which is a strong testimony to the country’s support to the event and its commitment in attracting more Middle Eastern tourists to Malaysia.   As in previous years, this prestigious annual event sees the participation of a strong Malaysian delegation from 76 organizations comprising hotels and resorts, travel agents, tourism products owners, representatives from various state governments, including Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Penang Global Tourism, Sabah Tourism Board, Sarawak Tourism Board, Tourism Melaka, Tourism Pahang, and Tourism Johor. The mission aims to reinstate and enhance the commitment to establishing good tourism cooperation, engaging in future collaborations, and cooperation with the travel and tourism industry in the region. Honourable Khairul Firdaus said during the launch, “In line with the Visit Malaysia in 2025, Tourism Malaysia will strive to attract more tourists from the Middle East to Malaysia. We are confident that we will be able to achieve our target to put Malaysia as the top destination for Muslim travelers,”. Throughout the event, the Malaysian delegation is scheduled to meet up with the top management of a few …

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) andenvironmental, social and governance (ESG) activities are attracting the highest levels of investment in travel technology at present, according to innovation specialist, Plug and Play. Experts from the Silicon Valley-headquartered firm shared a range of insights into the latest investment trends on the Travel Tech Stage at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which will conclude today at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). Speaking on the third day of the show, innovation specialists explored how travel startups are being affected by macroeconomic headwinds and fears of a global recession as part of the ‘Investment Trends Leading Travel Tech’ session. Kristie Choi, Early Stage Tech Investor at Plug and Play, noted that venture capital (VC) investment witnessed a “dramatic pullback” in the second half of 2022, a trend that continued into Q1 2023. “While this looks pretty scary, there are still billions of dollars of dry powder out there to be gained,” she told attendees. “Travel tech round dynamics tend to follow similar patterns as the wider tech market, and we are seeing an increased focus on profitability and cash efficiency in this segment.” Choi said that the travel sector was leading the curve in terms of generative AI investment and adoption. This technology is being leveraged to enhance the customer experience by facilitating trip planning, automating refunds and back-office processes, and supporting content creation. ESG is also a major focus for the travel technology sector, she explained, with sustained investments in transparent data reporting and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) serving to bolster the growth of responsible tourism. The influencer economy, meanwhile, is “driving business away” from online travel agencies (OTAs), according to Choi, as companies look to …

The ITIC Middle East Tourism Investment Session has presented their annual ATM Investment Summit meeting at ATM 2023.Exploring the economic outlook for regional tourism, the session also delved into the relationship between sustainability and investment in the sector as well as the growing opportunities for women in the Middle East, focusing on Oman as a case study. Hosted by Gerald Lawless, Director ITIC Ltd, Invest Tourism Ltd and Ambassador WTTC, the summit opened with Nicolas Mayer, Global Tourism Leader PWC and Nicholas Maclean, Chairman and Managing Director CBRE Middle East. Sharing an optimistic view on the market Maclean said: “One of the key asset classes which is attracting special interest, particularly in the GCC is the opportunity for investors to capitalise on the hospitality industry. The profile of investors in the GCC is much more long term than in other markets around the world.” Saudi Arabia is a particular growth area for the GCC region with the Kingdom recording 93.5 million tourists in 2022. Commenting on the investment situation in Saudi, Mayer said: “In Saudi Arabia there is an acceleration of not just hotels and rooms, but the creation of entire destinations which entails a number of different asset classes, be it in entertainment, human capacity building or experiences. The tourism industry is seen as a transformational sector when it comes to meeting sustainability goals and the sustainability aspect is now front and centre when it comes to investment in the Kingdom.” The sustainability segment of the ITIC session was moderated by BBC Anchor Sameer Hashmi and the speakers for this session included: Amr El Kady, CEO, Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board; Dr. Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, Managing Director of Jordan …

According to Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) has shared that the number of annual outbound journeys at more than 27 million, with a total value of over $42 billion by the year 2024. ATM calls India well-positioned to become one of the world’s most important outbound tourism markets.

Ministry of Tourism delegation, including Rupinder Brar, ADG, Tourism met international tour operators and travel agents on the 3rd day of ATM in Dubai, where they discussed matters in relation to e-visa facilities, single window immigration clearance, connectivity, way side amenities etc. Brar also gave a detailed presentation on India’s tourism offerings including niche products that the country offers to the international visitors. In line with Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi ji’s appeal for ‘Chalo India’ the focus was also given on the role of Indian diaspora for the publicity and promotion of Indian tourism.

Arabian Travel Market 2020 (ATM) has appointed Nijhawan Group to assist with the process of identifying premium quality hosted buyers from India and the Middle East region. With over 40 years’ experience in India as a leading travel conglomerate, Nijhawan Group has been sourcing hosted buyers since 2017. Commenting on the partnership, Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Direct ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “With extensive experience of the Indian and Middle Eastern travel markets, Nijhawan Group is the perfect representative to assist with this year’s hosted buyer programme and to help ensure the recruitment of key, quality players from top source markets such as India. Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, added: “We are delighted to partner with ATM for the upcoming travel showcase in Dubai. Over the coming months we are committed to ensuring a high standard of quality buyers who will benefit from meeting with sellers in a focused and organised environment.” ATM 2020 will also work with Nijhawan Group to create content on the outbound travel trends emerging from the Indian market ahead of the launch of a new series of buyer forums and networking events at this year’s showcase which will focus on India, as well as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and UAE.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has signed multiple Letter of Intent (LOI) agreements with leading hotel chains, tourism companies and potential investors at the recently-concluded Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2018. The agreements is the first step towards identification of partners to collaborate on the large opportunities of promotion of the State of Maharashtra as a medical tourism hub. Collaboration with large brands like BlueBay Hotels and Flora Hospitality has been signed to explore the areas of management and development of existing tourism locations in Maharashtra. In a bid to start identification of potential development and investment, agreements were signed with Eram Group and ITL Group offices from United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote Maharashtra as a preferred destination for medical, wellness, cultural, experiential and heritage tourism. Vijay Waghmare, Managing Director, MTDC said, “Arabian Travel Market 2018 was our first step towards creating a sustained campaign for promotion and establishment of Maharashtra to a wider international audience. Our participation in ATM 2018 was a huge success as we achieved our objectives of creating visibility and it has paved a way towards creating a roadmap for the state. We are looking forward to the next steps discussed with the partners and we are expecting some advancements in our mission for the State of Maharashtra by the next edition of ATM.”

India has been participating at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) since its inception 24 years ago and this year is no different. Speaking at a media briefing held at ATM 2017, HE Vipul, Consul General of India, Dubai said, “We have 54 participants in total from India who are here at ATM including goverment agencies like IRCTC, ITDC, as well as a number of private tour operators. Two state governments Jammu & Kashmir and Kerala have put up stalls while officials from Madhya Pradesh are also participating. The theme this year is yoga and wellness and Dubai particularly has embraced yoga in a big way. There has been a consistent and positive growth from this region to India over the last 3 years with 2016 having registered an overall growth of around 17 per cent over the previous year. India is today the biggest source of tourist arrivals in UAE with the numbers increasing every year and with the simplification in e-Tourist Visa and introduction of e-business and e-medical visa, we expect more tourists to travel to India.” Gyan Bhushan, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, highlighted the country’s growing tourism figures, and said, “India registered a growth of 10.6 per cent in 2016, which is higher than the global average of about 4.3 per cent. It is an all round destination and offers diversity throughout the year since we have the Himalayas, the desert, beaches, plains and much more. Our focus on health & medical tourism, wellness, cruise tourism, among others has grown as well since these are booming sectors.” Saket Saran, Country Head, Air India, reiterated the fact that traffic has been strong between Dubai and India and said, “The …