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- McLoughlin was presented with the prestigious ATM Pearl Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Travel Industry, a special award created for ATM’s 30th edition
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Duty Free helped to strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a leading international tourist destination, said Executive Vice Chairman and CEO Colm McLoughlin as he took to the Global Stage today at Arabian Travel Market 2023.
In a fascinating conversation with Euro News Dubai Bureau Chief Jane Witherspoon, McLoughlin recalled highlights from four decades at the helm of Dubai Duty Free and shared the organisation’s plans for the future.
Dubai Duty Free is one of the largest duty free operations in a single airport in the world and covers a total retail area of 40,000 square metres across Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport. In addition, Dubai Duty Free has raised the profile of the city of Dubai through the promotion of high-profile international events such as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which generates over US$1 billion in TV exposure for Dubai.
McLoughlin said: “Over the past 40 years, it has become increasingly important that the entire journey is enjoyable for the passenger, and a key part of this journey is spent at Dubai Duty Free.”
McLoughlin arrived in the UAE in July 1983 as part of the consultancy team from Aer Rianta, the Irish Airport Authority, which was contracted by the Dubai Government to launch a new duty-free operation at Dubai International Airport. He has remained at Dubai Duty Free since then and became Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the organisation and its subsidiary businesses in 2011.
Under his leadership, Dubai Duty Free grew from a US$20 million company in 1984 to a $1.74 billion operation last year, with 2023 sales expected to reach over US$2 billion. Aligning with the ‘Working towards net zero’ theme of ATM 2023, Dubai Duty Free will be increasingly emphasising CSR initiatives and sustainability in the coming years.
During the session today, McLoughlin was presented with the Pearl Award, a prestigious award created especially for the 30th edition of ATM. Presenting the award, Danielle Curtis Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “It is an absolute privilege to present you with the prestigious Pearl Award. This is fitting tribute to a stalwart in the tourism industry and someone who resonates with many of the ideologies behind the award, including wisdom, enlightenment and longevity.
“I am delighted to share this accolade with you in recognition of the incredible contribution that Dubai Duty Free, under your stewardship, has made to tourism and the economy, in a career that spans over 40 years. We thank you for all that you’ve done and wish you even more success in the future.”
McLoughlin concluded: “I’m absolutely thrilled and excited to receive this award and I would like to thank the team and staff at Dubai Duty Free, and of course our chairman H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
“Looking to the future, it is important that we keep on evolving and moving forwards delivering a ‘better tomorrow’ for travellers. We need to ensure that we continue to raise the benchmark when it comes to customer experiences while also adopting sustainable practices which protect and future-proof our environment.”
ATM 2023 is held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre and its strategic partners include Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.
The latest ATM news stories are available at https://hub.wtm.com/category/press/atm-press-releases/.
To register for ATM 2023, please log on to: https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb/enquire.html.
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For more information, log on to wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
About Arabian Travel Market (ATM), now in its 30th year, is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2022 attracted over 24,000 visitors and hosted over 31,000 participants including 1,600 exhibitors and attendees from 151 countries, across 10 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
Next in-person event: Monday 1 to Thursday 4 May 2023, Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
About Arabian Travel Week is a festival of events taking place within and alongside Arabian Travel Market 2023. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes ILTM Arabia, ARIVAL Dubai, Influencers’ events and activations, ITIC, GBTA Business Travel Forums, as well as ATM Travel Tech. It also features the ATM Buyer Forums, ATM Speed Networking Events as well as a series of country forums. https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
About RX (Reed Exhibitions)
RX is in the business of building businesses for individuals, communities and organisations. We elevate the power of face-to-face events by combining data and digital products to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors. RX is passionate about making a positive impact on society and is fully committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. www.rxglobal.com
RELX About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*
*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events, online portals and virtual platforms across four continents. The events are:
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. The show facilitates business connections for the global (leisure) travel community. Senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL London every November, generating travel industry contracts. Next live event: Monday 6 to 8 November 2023 at ExCel London http://london.wtm.com/
WTM Latin America takes place annually in the city of São Paulo and attracts around 20,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers qualified content together with networking and business opportunities. In this its ninth edition – there have been eight face-to-face events along with a 100% virtual one, which was held in 2021 – WTM Latin America continued to focus on effective business generation and achieved the advance booking of six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents and exhibitors in 2022. Next event: Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 April 2023 – Expo Center Norte, SP, Brazil http://latinamerica.wtm.com/
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2022, WTM Africa facilitated more than 7 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 7% compared to 2019 and welcomed more than 6 thousand visitors (unaudited), the same number as in 2019.
Next event: Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 April 2023 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel, LGBTQ+ travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
WTM Global Hub, is the new WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/
Media contact:
JAMES LAKIE
General Manager
Indigo Icon Tower, Jumeirah Lakes Towers
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
E-mail: james.lakie@shamalcomms.com
Website: www.shamalcomms.com
