ATM Hybrid ready to roll in Dubai

With a new hybrid format for the first time in ATM history, in-person at the DWTC from May 16-19 and virtually from May 24-26, the show will see 67 conference sessions featuring 145 local, regional and international speakers.

Manas Dwivedi

Now in its 28th year, ATM 2021 will be hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), as final preparations are being put in place. A total of 62 countries are being represented on the exhibition floor this year such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Germany, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico and the US. Onsite, there is a Global Stage which will include a hotel industry summit, dedicated buyer forums for Saudi Arabia and China, an International Tourism & Investment Conference (ITIC), as well as an aviation panel and a special session on Gulf-Israeli ties.

“The theme of this year’s show is ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism’ and the spotlight will be on the latest ‘COVID’ news from around the world – vaccine roll-outs, the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds,” says Claude Blanc, Portfolio Director, WTM & IBTM Portfolios. “This underscores the importance of ATM, connecting destinations with their source markets,” adds Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director Middle East, Arabian Travel Market.  The event will once again play an integral role in Arabian Travel Week, a 10-day-long festival of travel and tourism events taking place in Dubai and online. In addition to the in-person Arabian Travel Market event, the travel events that are part of Arabian Travel Week are: travel technology exhibition Travel Forward, ARIVAL Dubai for the tours and attractions sector, GBTA’s half-day virtual business travel conference, ITIC’s Middle East Tourism Investment Summit, speed networking events for digital influencers and regionally-focused buyer groups (including China) and, of course, ATM Virtual, the online edition of the ATM exhibition.

This year, for the first time in ATM history, a new hybrid format will mean a virtual ATM running a week later to complement and reach a wider audience than ever before. ATM Virtual, which made its debut last year, proved to be a resounding success attracting 12,000 online attendees from 140 countries.

“It is imperative that we include a virtual element. Many industry professionals from around the world may not be able to attend in-person every year, particularly this year with travel restrictions changing rapidly around the globe. Due to Dubai’s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of health and safety and its effective citywide management of the pandemic, it was awarded a ‘Safe Travels’ stamp,” adds Curtis.