According to ATM (Arabian Travel Mart), the event is expecting a huge influx of exhibitors and visitors from Israel keen to take advantage of Israel’s participation in its first major travel event in the Middle East. According to a press communication from the event organizer, ATM has witnessed “a massive spike”, not only in enquiries from Israel, but also from travel companies around the world that specialise in tours to the region.
ATM 2021 is scheduled to take place live from May 16-19 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). The event is themed ‘A new dawn for travel and tourism.’
“Following the signing of the Israel–United Arab Emirates normalisation agreement, the Israel Ministry of Tourism is planning significant steps to promote Israel as a tourism destination in the UAE. This will include participating for the first time in the Arabian Travel Market with a large booth and a delegation of Israel tourism industry representatives,” said Ksenia Kobiakov, Director of New Markets Development Department, Israel Ministry of Tourism.
According to the Dubai Government’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), in 2019, 8.6 million international trips were made by Israelis, a 9 per cent CAGR over the past five years.
The prospective length of stay by 2022 is forecast to be 11.5 nights indicating a willingness to embark on longer trips with business and leisure visitors making up 53 per cent of the total outbound market. Currently Poland, France and other European destinations dominate, but Turkey and Egypt are top five destinations, showing potential interest in MENA destinations.
“The interest shown by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism as well as other travel professionals based in Israel and international operators specialising in tours to Israel, has been extraordinary. This is a brand new market for both inbound and outbound operators and will provide a much needed boost to regional and international travel,” said Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market.“However, it is not just about direct travel between Israel and UAE and Bahrain,” she added.
“Due to the burgeoning international flight network between El Al, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad and Gulf Air, there will be massive potential for two-centre holidays or stopovers, either during inbound or outbound legs,” she also said.
Israel received a record 4.55 million visitors, a 10.6% increase over 2018 with more than 350,000 arrival in December 2019, another record. There is huge opportunity to tap into in the ME region. A pre-Covid report by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), estimates the direct GDP contribution of travel and tourism economy of ME region to reach US $133.6 billion by 2028.
