Arabian Travel Market highlights regional tourism opportunities
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Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013 is set to carve a niche in the regional industry with its opening today. The four-day show starting from today until 9 May 2013 also celebrates its 20thedition. This year’s show witnesses 2,500 exhibitors from 87 countries.
Mark Walsh, portfolio director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, highlighted the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Economic Impact 2013 outlook, which supports positive forecast for industry development and performance in the region this year. “The regional tourism map is now incredibly diverse with travel and tourism directly contributing US$76.6 billion to GDP in 2013, which is forecast to rise by 4.2% this year alone as ongoing investment into the sector and infrastructure development in key markets supports the dual long term goals of driving visitor numbers and moving towards sustainable economic diversification,” said Walsh.
He also emphasised the growth of a number of regional destinations, in particular the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Sultanate of Oman is also pursuing plans for tourism growth spurred by the government’s US$39m investment into development of Dhofar province, with the aim of making its annual Khareef (monsoon) festival an in-demand fixture on the global tourism calendar. This is supported by forecasted hotel room capacity growth at a CAGR of 5.3% between now and 2016, which will see Oman swell its current base of 5,331 rooms by an additional 2,000 before the end of this year.
Qatar is also moving ahead with its US$65 bn investment plan that focuses on the state’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Over 85,000 new hotel rooms will bolster current inventory levels as Qatar looks to welcome as many as 3.7 million visitors per annum by the time the tournament kicks off.
“Saudi Arabia is an extremely interesting market at the moment, and there is a strong push towards development of domestic tourism with 22.5m residents looking for new experiences aside from the favoured summer destination of Jeddah, as well as undertaking their Hajj and Umrah commitments,” said Walsh.