Tourism for Better Future, a Major Priority at ATM's Global Stage

The 28th edition of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the region's largest travel and tourism showcase, returned to Dubai on May 16 to focus on Tourism for a Brighter Future during the opening session at ATM's Global Stage.

With the year 2021 ushering in a new era for travel and tourism, leading industry leaders from around the world kicked off the dialogue on the ATM Global Stage by providing insight into the factors behind the sector's rapid recovery. Vaccinations, market segmentation and technological innovations, travel corridors, marketing, and product diversification have all been identified as key factors of substantial recovery by 2023.

During the Tourism Beyond Covid Recovery session on the ATM Global Stage, tourism ministers and key industry stakeholders from the Gulf and Southern Europe convened 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.

This was followed by the ATM China Tourism Forum, which highlighted China's continued significance as a major source market for many MENA destinations, as well as the imminent return of inbound tourism from China as destinations such as Dubai approach "Covid-19 safe" status due to the success of their domestic vaccination drives.

Meanwhile, at the ATM Travel Forward theatre, delegates heard from world-class technology leaders who shared industry-leading perspectives about the role of technology in the future of travel.

ATM 2021 will host 67 conference sessions with over 145 local, regional, and international speakers throughout the four-day event. Attendees on the Global Stage will also be able to attend the hotel industry forum, the ATM Saudi Arabia Tourism Summit: Transformation through tourism, an International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC), an aviation panel, and a special session on lessons learned contributing to the recovery and ongoing resilience in global travel.

ATM 2021, 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, will take place from May 17 to 19.