Arabian Travel Market concludes...

ATM closes with the key message that GCC travellers are vital to tourism recovery

ATM 2022 attracts over 23,000 visitors, growing by more than 100 percent YoY
1,500 exhibitors too part in ATM 2022
Attendees hailed from 150 countries
Innovation, sustainability and talent were key themes during the four-day event
Research concludes GCC travellers are essential in tourism’s recovery

Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022 concluded today, Thursday 12 May, at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) having attracted more than 20,000 visitors at its first full-capacity event since the pandemic.

Bringing together travel and tourism experts and 1,500 exhibitors, ATM facilitated thousands of in-person meetings and several industry panels. Among the key points raised, it was highlighted that GCC travellers have a vital role in tourism recovery, a direct result of their spending power.

According to the UNWTO, GCC travellers spend 6.5 times more than the global average, with 40% of GCC travellers spending more than AED36,700 on their last trip to Europe.

UNWTO also found that travellers from Saudi Arabia are reportedly the highest travel spenders globally

Research revealed by consumer intelligence company D/A at ATM showed that GCC travellers are keen to travel again. Their research is based on analysis of over four million social media posts and comments from more than two million Arabic-speaking unique users in the GCC. D/A showed that the number of travel conversations and posts about travel increased by 151% in 2021.

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Speaking on the ATM Global Stage, D/A managing partner Paul Kelly said: “Travel conversations increased to over 1.3 million in 2021, underscoring the willingness by Arabic speakers in the GCC to travel, regardless of age or nationality. We are ultimately witnessing the pent-up demand from the last two years coming to the fore as borders reopen, flights are back on track and restrictions are lifted.”

Holiday destinations currently favoured by GCC travellers followed the global google trend, which saw a spike in the search terms ‘staycation’ in 2020, which was representative of the number of people from GCC countries looking to vacation locally.

According to the D/A research, the UAE was the most popular destination in the MENA region, followed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt and then Qatar.

In Europe, the UK was the most popular destination, followed by France, Germany and Italy, with Switzerland rounding out the top five list.

For more information, visit wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html