Outbound travel from India dominates ATM2025

On the dias, on the exhibition floors as well as in meetings, pre-fixed or coincidental, India was the flavour of the season at the Arabian Travel Market, the largest travel trade show in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Middle Eastern world, which was held in Dubai from April 28-May 1.

And it surprised hardly anyone that even though the show was held in Dubai, the spotlight remained firmly on India, which is the largest source market for most of GCC countries, if not all, and also the fastest growing one.

For many of the destinations present at the show, ATM allows them to refresh connection with Indian travel trade, which is present in strength at the show and to discuss the upcoming season. This was also the case with Dubai, the host city, which had a large presence at ATM.

Bader Ali Habib

“We have had a lot of fruitful conversations and there was a lot of information seeking. But more than that, what I see is a lot of people are still hungry for Dubai and are looking for more than just the standard experiences. A lot of people are asking for more. I am hopeful that this ATM will eventually culminate into a fantastic summer for Dubai and that we should have a fantastic year from India and from all the global markets,’’ Bader Ali Habib, Director of Proximity Markets, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, tells India Outbound.

He goes on to add that a lot of new elements await Indian visitors to Dubai.  “A lot of things are new. We will soon be launching a couple of campaigns that will be new for India and a lot of new attractions have opened up that we have been pushing in Dubai and generally from a destination standpoint, I think apart from this, we are looking at a more aggressive summer. We are hoping to go deeper into Tier II and Tier III cities and the stopover visits is another area that we want to focus on. There are many more interesting things that are coming that we can’t reveal right now, but very soon you will understand what I am saying, but summer this year is going to be extremely special for India,’’ he adds.

Arabian Travel Market 2025 attracted record 55,000 participants (Photo: India Outbound)

It is not just the destinations in proximity that come to ATM to connect with the Indian market, but even many come from afar to participate in the show, not only to meet the travel trade from the GCC, but also those from other source markets in Asia-Pacific, notably India.

Donovan White

For the distant Caribbean island nation Jamaica, participating in ATM helps it reconnect with two distinct and important markets. “We hope to start activities on the ground in India later this year, but participating here at ATM allows us to meet with travel trade partners from India and it allows us to stay connected with the market,’’ Donovan White, Director, Jamaica Tourist Board, tells India Outbound.

Out in Dubai and the GCC region broadly, there is another India-related market for Jamaica, which it also reaches through ATM, the Indian diaspora market. “Already, the Indian diaspora in the United States and Canada is a growing market for Jamaica and I know that the GCC region has a large and well-to-do Indian diaspora, which we aim to tap by participating in ATM,’’ adds White.

Harjit Singh

It is not just the destinations, even the Indian travel trade participating in ATM found the show to be very productive and fruitful. “Attending the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai for the first time was an eye-opening and incredibly rewarding experience. The scale of the event, the diversity of participants, and the quality of conversations surpassed my expectations. I had the opportunity to connect with key stakeholders across the global travel and hospitality spectrum, including hotels, DMCs, attractions, and service providers, exchange insights on evolving trends, and explore collaborative opportunities that hold promise for the future. The meetings were meaningful, focused, and reflected the industry’s shared optimism and drive for innovation. ATM truly lived up to its reputation as a premier platform for forging impactful partnerships,’’ Harjit Singh, Founder & Chief of Guest Experience, at Travel Twist, a travel firm based in Delhi focussing on luxury travel, tells India Outbound.

ATM also attracted agencies and destination management companies from around the world, including those like Discover Destinations, that caters to Indian visitors to the United States.

Umang Malbari

“ATM is incredible. I think this is probably the busiest ATM we have’ had. The GCC market is one that we were in previously and again it is a market that we are exploring and the student market is very strong here for the NASA space camps, college visits and similar sort of tourism and each year we do about 1200 students from the GCC region, besides the FIT and the corporate movements that we regularly handle,’’ Umang Malbari, President, Discover Destinations, tells India Outbound.

“And now, the luxury market is one that we are trying to focus in on a little bit more as well now. We didn’t exhibit at ATM, but we have met some of our existing clients that were already here just to renew those relationships and to let them know that this market is important to us and we have opened an office locally to provide another point of contact to them,’’ Malbari adds.

For a diversified local company like Riya Travel, which has a presence in six nations including India, and which runs a DMC in the UAE, participating in ATM is important on several counts. It allows them to position their DMC business to travel trade from around the world planning visits to the UAE, besides catering to the local market by offering tailor-made packages for GCC travellers headed to countries around the world.

Nirav Agrawal

“The reason for us participating over here is to showcase all the services that we have for the local market. Outbound from India to Dubai or to UAE is a segment that we cater to, so our interest over here was to cater the local market. However, for many Indian agents, the new visa rules for UAE pose a challenge and we have a quota over here, making us one of the very few agencies with their own quota and through this we are offering assistance to agents who do outbound from India to Dubai,’’ Nirav Agrawal, Head Marketing, Riya Travel and Tours, tells India Outbound.

“I think ATM is a show which is great and this year I feel personally that it was better than last year. We have also upgraded our space as we have gone bigger this year. So we have seen influx of people over here. And we see that there are a lot of serious buyers over here. Unlike other bigger shows, this is a very structured show and I feel that ATM is only going to grow from here,’’ Agrawal adds.

For the organisers, too, it is important to make ATM a platform where not only local travel businesses are transacted, but where travel trade from the worldover converges for doing business with the rest of the world.

“I was only actually talking to some of the customers on the show floor. Brunei, for example, they are participating for the first time in ATM this year and they said that they had come here not only to meet GCC nationals, for example, going to Brunei. But they are here  because they want to connect with key markets like India and other key markets because that is why they have come to ATM. So, the exhibitors that are coming to ATM, are looking for business not only from GCC, but from other core markets, such as India,’’ Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director, ATM, tells India Outbound.

Danielle Curtis

Curtis adds that ATM is set to scale new heights next year, with growth horizontally and vertically. “Innovation and technology has grown, as I said earlier, by 24 pc. It will be a significant focus in 2026. We will have a very key feature right in the centre of the halls. We will be growing, with yet another hall from next year. And next year, we will be bringing the experience to the surface and by experience, I dont only attractions. I mean what experience we as an organiser bring to the events. And essentially that will be brought to the table, we will adding luxury in a big way. So watch this space. Can’t tell you all the detail right now, but innovation, technology, luxury, carrying on with IBTM, which is the business events segment, and growing that even more. And I do believe we will start seeing even more growth from Asia and the Americas as we look to future additions,’’ Curtis adds.