Arabian Travel Market opens doors to 34,000 visitors over four-day tourism conference

Organisers say exhibitor numbers will be up by 27% on last year's show in Dubai

Visitors at the Dubai stand on the third day of the Arabian Travel Market held at Dubai World Trade Centre. Pawan Singh / The National

Visitors at the Etihad stand. Pawan Singh / The National

A Flynas advertisement on the first day of Arabian Travel Market.

The Iraq stand. Pawan Singh / The National

Visitors at the Qatar stand on the first day of Arabian Travel Market.

Visitors at the Rotana stand. Pawan Singh / The National

Children's toys on display at the Emirates stand. Pawan Singh / The National

The Neom stand. Pawan Singh / The National

The Armani stand. Pawan Singh / The National

The Flynas stand. Pawan Singh / The National

Performers dance at the Saudi Arabia stand on the second day of the Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National

Visitors take photos at the flydubai stand. Pawan Singh / The National

The Jordan stand. Pawan Singh / The National

The second day of Arabian Travel Market welcomed visitors from around the world. Pawan Singh / The National

The event is considered a bellwether for the travel industry in the Middle East, offering an insight into the trends that will shape the year ahead. Pawan Singh / The National

A total of 112 countries looking to revive their tourism numbers will be featured on the exhibition's show floor, from Japan to Jamaica and South Africa to Italy. Pawan Singh / The National

People visit the South Africa stand at the Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National

A model of the Airbus A350-1000 at the Etihad stand on the first day of Arabian Travel Market held at Dubai World Trade Centre. All photos: Pawan Singh/The National

More than 1,500 exhibiting companies are taking part in the four-day tourism showcase that will welcome about 20,000 visitors.

Travel and tourism are starting to show signs of recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many companies starting to ramp up their recruitment as countries reopen their borders.

Staff from Al Ain Zoo showing some birds and reptiles at the Abu Dhabi stand.

Saudi Arabia has a major presence at this year's Arabian Travel Market, including representatives from Neom, the kingdom's $500 billion futuristic mega city.

Arabian Travel Market is considered a bellwether for the travel industry in the Middle East, offering an insight into trends for the year ahead.

Emirates airline launched its premium economy cabin at Arabian Travel Market.

The Abu Dhabi stand at Arabian Travel Market was busy on the first day of the event.

Artists showcasing handmade items at the Abu Dhabi stand.

Staff from Al Ain Zoo introduce visitors to birds at the Abu Dhabi stand.

Etihad Airways showcasing its economy class seats at Arabian Travel Market.

The soaring price of oil and the impact of the war in Ukraine are tempering the travel industry's expected resurgence.

Staff from Al Ain Zoo show visitors reptiles at the Abu Dhabi stand.

The Darina holidays stand on the first day of Arabian Travel Market held at Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai.

Visitors at the Brussels stand.

Visitors at the Maldives stand.

Sustainability in tourism will be the hot topic at one of the biggest events in Dubai’s conference calendar this week.

Tens of thousands are expected to gather at the Dubai World Trade Centre for the 30th annual Arabian Travel Market, which starts on Monday and runs until Thursday.

This year’s event focuses on efforts to cut carbon emissions, with those in attendance to hear from experts and industry leaders about how the sector is working towards that goal.

“My colleagues and I cannot wait to welcome participants to the 30th edition of Arabian Travel Market, which will see bring our industry together in Dubai to explore this year’s theme, Working Towards Net Zero,” said exhibition director Danielle Curtis in a statement on Wam.

“[Monday's] programme features a diverse selection of interviews and panel discussions, which will provide valuable insights as we work to build a sustainable travel industry for future generations.”

Three decades of Travel Market

The opening session will feature a panel discussion on how to tackle the issue of climate change, with Abdulla bin Touq, UAE Minister of Economy, among those offering insight.

How Big Data can benefit the tourism sector will also be up for discussion on the first day, with experts offering their views in another panel session.

The return of luxury travel will also be high on the agenda, as well as sessions focusing on markets including China, India and the GCC.

Cop28 will also loom large, with experts discussing how the tourism industry can do more to reduce its carbon emissions ahead of November’s conference.

This year’s Arabian Travel Market will attract more than 2,000 exhibitors from 150 countries, marking an increase of 27 per cent from last year.

About 34,000 visitors are expected over the four days.

The event comes as Dubai’s tourism chief said the emirate is very much on the up, despite how high inflation rates and oil prices might have affected consumer travel.

“Looking at forward bookings … we can see that demand for Dubai is going up,” said Issam Kazim, chief executive of the Dubai Department for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday to launch the Arabian Travel Market conference, Mr Kazim said the industry had grown despite concerns about the global economy.

“I know that some people were concerned about the impact on discretionary disposable income, and that's the bracket that leisure travel falls into, but we've managed to see significant growth within that number as well in terms of length of stay within Dubai and also the contribution to the GDP [gross domestic product].”