Oman is to have a major presence at this year’s Arabian Travel Market, the pan-Arab travel and tourism exhibition being held in Dubai in May, with a 117 square meter national pavilion, according to a company press release. “For the seventh year in a row, Oman is taking its message directly to the regional and international travel trade,” said Matt Thompson, group exhibition director at Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), which organizes Arabian Travel Market.
“This year we anticipate intra-regional tourism will be high on the Sultanate’s agenda following recent relaxation in visa restrictions which makes travel from neighboring countries easier and more affordable, a move which will no doubt spur tourism arrivals.”
Thompson added that many Omani hotels will also be represented at the show in pavilions led by international managing chains. Arabian Travel Market 2002, which takes place at Airport Expo Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), from May 7-10, features strong Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) representation with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar stepping up their presence.
Some of the GCC’s leading travel buyers are again in the Arabian Travel Market visitor spotlight with a selection of the region’s top purchasers being invited onto the show’s special hosted buyer program when they will stay at the newly-opened Fairmont Hotel, Dubai.
“They will be among 50 of the world’s leading incentive decision-makers and a group 20 Saudi tour operators to be hosted. They will meet Arabian Travel Market exhibitors in buyer-meet-supplier sessions on the first day of the show,” said Thompson
“As with 2001, the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) markets are the focus of our hosted buyer program due to industry demand and research among exhibitors.” RTE is also hoping for its biggest turnout of professional travel and tourism visitors from Oman this year.
“Last year almost 100 trade professionals from Oman attended but we believe we can beat that figure this year given the growth in the Sultanate’s tourism infrastructure and the number of Omanis entering the travel and tourism sector,” said Lindsey Kavanagh, RTE’s marketing manager for overseas events. “And, with industry analysts predicting intra-Arab tourism is likely to double within a decade, it is more vital than ever that the foundations are put in place to address growth in this burgeoning sector.”
Oman is among 47 countries from which, to date, exhibitors have registered for Arabian Travel Market 2002. “The profile includes 42 official destination pavilions and the mix is as great as ever both in product and geographic destination offerings,” said Kavanagh.
“The Far East is well represented, as is Africa. Europe too remains committed. The only area not to have lived up to our pre-September 11 expectations is the USA, where perhaps the travel industry’s focus has now taken on a more domestic approach. But the good news for industry visitors is that the product profile is in fact growing, opening up more business opportunities, both outbound and inbound.”
“Turkey, for instance, is staging its biggest-ever Arabian Travel Market promotion this year and is aiming to keep up the momentum of traffic from Oman, which almost quadrupled last year,” said Kavanagh. “Despite the international travel slowdown we are cautiously optimistic that this year’s event will match last year’s record showing when over 700 exhibitors from 59 countries participated and over 10,000 people, including 6,336 trade professionals visited,” said Kavanagh.
New attractions this year also include an upgraded on-site educational seminar programme, which will run over May 8 and 9. Topics to be presented include: Marketing To American Associations and Corporations, Using Technology To Target The American Meetings and Incentives Market, Sustainable Tourism and How To Attract And Retain Customers Through A More Secure Online Payment Alternative.
“There is a deliberate heavy focus on the US because American associations and corporations spend over $110 billion in meetings annually—a great market for outbound destinations to tap,” said Kavanagh. “The seminar will explain how US organizers select meeting sites and professional organizers. Currently there are approximately 45,000 US-based associations, each organizing anywhere from five to 120 meetings each year. About 46 percent of them organize international meetings, according to a state of the industry report by Deloitte and Touche.” — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
