Dubai today (May 16) opens its doors to the largest in-person travel and tourism event in the world since the onset of the pandemic last year - Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

Now in its 28th year, ATM 2021 will see 62 countries being represented on the exhibition floor this year including the UAE, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, the Maldives, the Philippines, Thailand, Mexico and the US, said the event organisers.

Under the theme A new dawn for travel & tourism, the four-day show will see experts discuss the top industry issues, thus underscoring the strength of the ATM brand and its international reach.

Away from the exhibition floor, a total of 67 conference sessions will take place featuring 145 local, regional and international speakers, said the event organisers.

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 session.

On the top regional expo, the organisers said its key highlight will be the 'Tourism for a Brighter Future' opening session taking place at 12pm to 1pm GST.

The four-day event features 67 conference sessions with over 145 local, regional and international speakers overall. 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, they stated.

The theme of this years show is A new dawn for travel and tourism and the spotlight will be focused on the very latest Covid news from around the world vaccine rollouts, the current state of the industry and more importantly, what the future holds, said Claude Blanc, Portfolio Director, WTM & IBTM Portfolios.

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 session.

On today's events, the organisers said its key highlight will be the 'Tourism for a Brighter Future' opening session taking place at 12pm to 1pm GST.

Moderated by Becky Anderson, Managing Editor, CNN Abu Dhabi & Anchor, speakers include Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM); Dr Taleb Rifai, Chairman ITIC & Former Secretary General United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Scott Livermore, Chief Economist of Oxford Economics Middle East, Dubai and Thoyyib Mohamed, Managing Director, Maldives Tourism Board.

Later in the afternoon, the Tourism Beyond Covid Recovery session will take place, at 2pm to 3pm GST, which will include key speakers such as Dr Ahmad bin Abdullah Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises for the UAE; Zayed R. Alzayani, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism to Bahrain and Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority and Haitham Mattar, Managing Director of IHG Hotels and Resorts for India, Middle East & Africa.

Other features this year will include Travel Forward at ATM, which has world-class technology experts, providing industry-leading insights about the latest technologies and trends that will undoubtedly shape the future of travel and tourism.

This underscores the importance of ATM, connecting destinations with their source markets, said Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director Middle East, Arabian Travel Market.

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.-TradeArabia News Service

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