Tag Archives: ATM

Over 2,600 exhibitors and an expected 30,000 visitors will participate at the 24th Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2017, the largest travel trade event in the Middle East taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 24-27. Over 150 countries are participating, with more than 100 new exhibitors set to make their ATM debut. New to ATM 2017, ILTM Arabia will play host to one-on-one, pre-scheduled appointments, between suppliers of luxury products and destinations from around the world to an audience of high net-worth individuals. Meanwhile marketing to experiential travellers will be an integral part of the ATM Travel Tech seminar programme. The UNWTO & ATM Ministerial Forum returns, uniting more than 20 ministers with industry leaders in the MENA region to consider methods of capitalising on tourism growth and building a sustainable ecosystem for the sector to unlock its potential within each country’s national agenda.

Mid-market travel, which is a key growth segment for the region’s hospitality and tourism sector, has been selected as the official show theme for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2016, which will take place at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from April 25-28, 2016. “Data released by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) revealed that up to 50% of the 3,600 new hotel rooms to enter the Dubai market in the final months of 2015 have a 3-star or lower rating, while competitive room rates are set to rival the luxury market, as 69% to have four stars or less according to research,” said Nadege Noblet-Segers, Exhibition Manager, Arabian Travel Market. “This will add much-needed midscale room stock to the emirate’s hotel landscape, where three-star or below room supply only accounted for 29% of total availability in the first quarter of 2015,” she added. Destinations like Dubai are already putting in place programs to encourage investment into midmarket hotels such as the release of government land plots for three and four-star hotel projects, speeding up of the construction permit approval process to just two months, and the waiver of the 10% municipality room tax for four years upon completion. Dubai currently has a total hotel key count of approximately 94,000. This figure is set to rise to between 140,000 and 160,000 keys by 2020 with around 20% set to target the mid-market hotel sector. A host of global hotel brands and local UAE-based operators are targeting the aggressive brand expansion in this area, especially after the latest Knight Frank report. The study revealed that the Dubai segment showed a year-on-year RevPAR increase of 0.5% during the first quarter of the year, …