Loading ...The ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saaed Al Maktoum was in attendance as the 14th Annual Arabian Travel Market kicked off in the desert emirate, as His Highness commented while walking around, “I’m very impressed with what I see.
Theis year’s ATM is the biggest yet, with 70 countries sending over 2,000 participants, representing an 8 percent increase over last year. The chairman of Emirates Airline Group and president of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority to boot, His Highness says, “Tourism is booming across the Middle East, not only here in the UAE. However, this growth can only continue if we take a consolidated approach to make sure that each country’s individual tourism products and domestic strategies compliment one another”.
Among the 70 countries participating at this year’s ATM, Georgia, Senegal, Dijbouti, the Philippines and Nepal were there for the first time. “I am happy to see how the show has grown. When we started 15 years ago, it was much smaller, but the growth over the last decade has been staggering. To see this year that it has over 2,000 exhibitors from across the world, with a stronger regional participation, is a signal that future growth will be phenomenal,” added the Sheikh.